12 minutes agoFRRONEX to secure Montenegro's entire border with Kosovo, neighbouring countries
Periskopi(3 years ago)
(3 years ago)Montenegro's and the European Union's negotiating teams reached an agreement under which Montenegro's entire border with its neighbours will be secured by the officers of the European Union's Border and Coast Guard Agency, along with the Montenegrin police and Army. “FRONTEX wants [...]
“FRONTEX will be on all borders of Montenegro with neighbouring states, and not as before on the border with Croatia, which is a European Union state”, Montenegrin Interior Minister Fillip Axhiq said at the meeting of the country's government on 11 May.
Since February of this year, negotiations have continued to extend its jurisdiction to the borders with Albania, Kosovo, Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
followed the previous deal, 2020, FRONTEX has helped Montenegro control its borders with members of the European Union, Croatia and Italy, especially in situations of increasing the influx of migrants from the Middle East and areas of conflict.
According to Minister Axhiq, FRONTEX teams will include experts who are trained to discover all possible illegal actions at the border points.
“This will also raise our border police to a much higher level, because it will work with professionals from that area”, said Minister Axhiq.
In general, FRRONEX provides part of the borders between candidate countries and European Union countries. So far this agency secured only the Montenegrin border with Croatia.
The minister without portfolio in charge of fighting corruption, Zoran Milanic, has praised the presence of FRONTEX across Montenegro's border as a great success.
The “is a big deal that FRONTEX has agreed to secure the entire border, especially the border with Albania, which is more porosier to other states of the region”, Milanic said.
According to recent data, in 2022, a influx of more than 8,500 migrants in Montenegro has been recorded - 150 percent more than in the preceding year.
FRONTEX's assistance in Montenegro's border management implies implementation of joint operations and, above all, aimed at solving the problem of illegal migration, response to changes in the influx of migrants and to cross-border crime.
Under the deal, FRONTEX officers enjoy immunity from Montenegro's civilian and administrative jurisdiction over all actions they conduct during the exercise of official duties.
Also, when it comes to privileges, it is projected that all FRONTEX objects will be excluded from checks, their wealth is inexplicable, exempted from customs, tax duties, and import restrictions and export items destined for official use. / REL
