Albania and the European Union (EU) signed here on Friday a new agreement on operational cooperation in border management with the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex), aiming to combat cross-border crime, address irregular migration, as well as to enhance security at the EU’s external borders.
Albanian Interior Minister Taulant Balla considered the signing of this new agreement as the “next evidence of the indisputable will to contribute to the common security of the expanded European area.”
“Our ambition is not simply to be a beneficiary of the community mechanisms for the protection of the EU’s external borders, but to take on the role of a contributing country for security in the region and beyond,” Balla said.
The new agreement will replace the current agreement, which entered into force in 2019. The agreement allows the deployment of Frontex standing corps at the borders between Albania and its neighbouring western Balkan countries.
There are currently 162 European border guard officers working alongside Albanian Border Police.
Source: Xinhua
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