Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Minister of Security Selmo Cikotić is participating in the annual border police conference in Poland, organized by the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (FRONTEX).
The conference is dedicated to operational issues, facilitating cooperation and strengthening coordination, especially in the fight against cross-border crime, cross-border threats to health and the protection of migrants and refugees.
Minister Cikotić was a panelist in the session dedicated to providing protection and solutions for refugees and migrants at the borders, where they discussed the effective response to these crises.
During the two-day conference, Minister Cikotić will have several bilateral meetings with representatives of FRONTEX and delegations from other countries.
In particular, the focus will be on the opening of new negotiations on a cooperation agreement in the area of border management between FRONTEX and the countries of the region, including our country.
This agreement envisages the possibility of providing assistance in migration management, the fight against illegal immigration and the suppression of cross-border crime, as well as the organization of joint operations and the deployment of FRONTEX teams to the border, stated the Ministry of Security of BiH.
Earlier, the European Commission adopted the recommendation of the Council of the European Union (EU) to approve the opening of negotiations on improved agreements on the status of the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex) with the four countries of the Western Balkans.
The approval refers to the borders between the EU and Albania, Serbia, Montenegro, and Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH).
As part of this, the European Commission adopted a new aid package worth 39.2 million euros within the framework of the Pre-accession Aid Instrument for strengthening border management in the Western Balkans.
As stated in the announcement of the European Commission, with the proposal of October 25th, the Commission, with the support of Frontex, will strengthen the capacities of the countries of the Western Balkans in their management of migration, the fight against smuggling, and ensuring security.
According to the currently existing status agreements between Frontex and Albania, Serbia, and Montenegro, the deployment of the permanent corps can only take place at the borders of EU countries and without the exercise of executive powers. Under the new legal framework, the status agreement will allow the Frontex permanent corps to be deployed in a third country and at the EU border as well as at borders with third countries and to exercise executive powers.
”Therefore, the new status agreements will better support and strengthen cooperation in border management in the Western Balkans,” the European Commission said in a statement.
