The Salzburg Forum (SF) is a Central European security partnership of Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia.

The Salzburg Group is, according to the statement of the Commissioner for Justice and Home Affairs, Mr. Frattini, at the meeting of the Ministers of the Interior of the Salzburg Group states held in Gratz, Austria, in July 2005, an important forum for the exchange of opinions, ideas and experiences concerning the creation of the area of freedom, security and justice, i.e. tasks arising from the Hague Programme.

A special emphasis is, in this context, placed on regional cooperation regarding asylum and migration, in particular on enhancing information exchanges and cooperation between public institutions concerned, the development of common strategies for combating illegal migration, trafficking in human beings and the exploitation of women and children, as well as on the harmonisation of relevant legal provisions of the European Union in relation to third countries.

The key points of the meeting were:[3] At a meeting between the American Attorney General John Ashcroft and the Austrian interior minister Ernst Strasser, the Austrian minister used the opportunity to point out insofar the European security is concerned Austria's place as a bridge between the western and eastern European countries and their task to connect these states, especially the SF countries to the USA.

He also talked about the goals of SF, like a "European police force" (the so-called Euro cops), the implementation of the Solana Paper, the West Balkan Strategy, the training workshop for air marshals, and the fight against drug trade in the countries of Central Asia and the Caucasus, which are significant for transit to Austria.

Austria's Interior Minister Ernst Strasser outlined six proposals to share information and coordinate measures taken to improve security in Europe, in the wake of the 11 March train bombings in Madrid in which killed 191 people.

After the Madrid attacks, Austria called for the establishment of a new intelligence service dubbed "a European CIA", but ran into opposition from France and Germany.

Hungary took on the execution of the future traffic control actions, and Poland, under its half year of presidency of the SF, would plan the meeting of experts.)

The eubusiness.com reported “Interior Ministers from eight Central European countries demanded on Friday that new EU members be quickly allowed into the Schengen border-free zone.

The ministers of the "Salzburg Group" countries (plus Croatia), demanded that the sophisticated computer system SIS II, intended to ensure the safety of the borderfree zone, be rapidly implemented after long delays.

European Union Justice Commissioner Franco Frattini had said the EU's newest members would join the Schengen unified visa system in March 2008 at the earliest, instead of autumn 2007, because of technical problems.

At the press conference, the Minister of the Interior of the Republic of Austria Liese Prokop and the Minister of the Interior of the Republic of Slovenia Dragutin Mate summed up that the Salzburg Forum nowadays represents a respectable group of countries endeavouring to promote common interests within the EU, assisting each other and cooperating in various fields.

The Portugal’s proposal of setting up the system »SISone4all« or »SIS I+«, which represents an alternative solution for the new EU Member States in joining the Schengen Area, featured high on the agenda.

As Minister Mate said, Slovenia’s access to the Schengen database depends on the opinion of the EU Justice and Home Affairs Council, which will decide on eventual implementation of the system SIS I+ at its meeting this December.

»The 25 EU Member States must receive complete assurance that the system will provide the highest security standards, that it will be tested and technically adequate« replied Minister Liese Prokop when asked when we can expect entry into the Schengen area without internal borders.”[10]“Before the informal meeting of the JHA Council, in Tampere (Finland) Slovenia, in its capacity as the presiding country of the Salzburg Forum, organised a meeting of Salzburg Forum Member States which was mostly aimed at exchanging views on the new schedule of implementing SIS II.

Slovenian Minister of the Interior Dragutin Mate reiterated the concerns and dissatisfaction expressed at the meeting between the current presidency and future presiding states of the Council of the European Union over the current situation and appealed to Salzburg Forum states to seek alternative solutions that would enable access to Schengen databases irrespective of future development of SIS II.

The Czech Republic agreed with the suggested approach in principle whereas the rest of the SF Member States supported further development of SIS II and appealed to the Commission to provide more transparency, mostly by submitting regular reports on the current state of affairs in SIS II development to the Council of Ministers.

In the context of the debates on delayed SIS II implementation and, subsequently, abolition of internal borders, the Slovenian Minister of the Interior Dragutin Mate drew attention to a great financial burden that will be shouldered on, mostly, new Member States.

The Salzburg Forum was created by the countries of Central and East Europe for the building of common positions and policies in the sphere of justice and internal order.

"The cooperation between the Salzburg Forum and its Friends is based on a balanced and flexible approach, aiming to ensure maximum coordination and coherence in their joint activities, thus avoiding unduly duplication and overlap of efforts and resources.

The common goal of the Salzburg Forum countries and their Friends from Western Balkans is to enhance the level of security of their citizens and to contribute to the further stabilisation of the region.

In considering the external dimension of the Salzburg Forum, one of the key points addressed during this meeting was the decision to support Romania and Bulgaria in their efforts to join the Schengen territory.

According to the Austrian Federal Minister of Interior the members of the SF are powerful together[17] (now that the coalition comprises eight EU states), but he has not substantiated his statement and it is unlikely that he will succeed in that in the near future.