In the coming weeks, Frontex’s presence will be extended to maritime border control, including support for search and rescue.
July 18, 2020 - The European Border and Coast Guard Agency Frontex, whose main task is to protect the external borders of the European Union, launched an operation in Montenegro on 15th July, which is the agency's second operation outside the EU, balkansec.net reports.
Montenegro is, after Albania, the second country in the Western Balkans where the EU is launching a mission to improve border control and combat illegal migration, a move which could be followed by missions in Serbia, North Macedonia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
According to Frontex, several officers will be deployed in Montenegro to assist the Montenegrin border authorities at the border with Croatia.
In the coming weeks, the presence will be extended to border control at sea, including support to search and rescue tasks.
The main goal of the operation is to combat cross-border crime, migrant smuggling, trafficking in human beings, document fraud, stolen vehicles and boats, as well as preventing the smuggling of drugs and weapons and terrorism, writes balkansec.net.
An agreement was reached two years ago between the EU and Montenegro on the deployment of Frontex members on the Montenegrin border.
