Frontex

Happy Statehood Day, Slovenia! 🇸🇮 On this occasion, we talk to Goran, #Frontex coordinating officer for operations in the Western Balkans 🗺️ 👮 “For 20 years, I worked as a senior police inspector in the Slovenian border police. I was dealing, among others, with all the preparations for Slovenia’s accession to the EU, and then the Schengen Area. For many years, I was the deputy representative of Slovenia on the Frontex Management Board. 📍 “I joined Frontex in 2015, first as a maritime borders expert. Now, coordinate joint operations in the Western Balkans region. It's a very interesting work, especially now, as we are transferring to new status agreements that allow us operate also on the border between two non-EU countries. 🌄 “Slovenia is not a big country. We like to say we’re small but sexy. And we have a bit of everything, so it doesn't matter what you like, you will find it here. Mountains, hills, lakes, even a little sea. Actually, we have 46.8 km of coastline, which means you can run a marathon along it! 🏃 You would start at the border with Croatia and end at the border with Italy. 🕯️ “The national holiday is especially important for the border police, and we celebrate it solemnly with commemorations because on 26 June, that is the day after we had proclaimed independence, the war in Slovenia started. It was the first war in the former Yugoslavia, and we were extremely lucky that it lasted only for ten days. Still, six Slovenian police officers lost lives, and one of the biggest clashes took place at a small border crossing point between Slovenia and Austria. 🎒 “Generally speaking, Slovenians celebrate every holiday, every weekend and even every free day by going somewhere: to the mountains, lakes, seaside. We are, I would say, a very sporty, very nature-oriented nation. It was one of the biggest difficulties when I came to live in Poland because whenever I wanted to go somewhere, everything was much further away than back at home.”

Frontex Leads the Fight Against Human Trafficking ✋ We’re proud to share the results of a recent major operation coordinated by Frontex, and led and co-led by Austria, Romania, Europol and @INTERPOL HQ. With the participation of 40 countries, this international effort led to the arrest of 219 traffickers and the rescue of over 1 370 victims of human trafficking 🚨 Each arrest and each person rescued reinforces our determination to stamp out human trafficking 🙅 This operation demonstrates the incredible impact we can achieve through cooperation. Together, we’re making the world a safer place for everyone 🤝 Read more: https://lnkd.in/dX3XRm_Z

Happy National Day, Luxembourg! 🇱🇺 To mark this day, we spoke with Gerard, who has left behind a career in finance to work with asylum seekers. He is now working as an EU border guard officer category 2 👮 🚀 “In 2015, I decided to change my professional career when I was given the opportunity to work for the General Department of Immigration of the Luxembourgish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In the last nine years, I have been working in the service of applicants for international protection, where I am in charge of opening the files of asylum seekers. As I have also performed a great number of interviews, I was offered a mission as a debriefer, Frontex officer category 2. Since January this year, I’ve been deployed in Sicily, Porto Empedocle. ⭐ “Being Luxembourgish means being a citizen of one of the smallest countries in the EU (but still a founding member!). But it also means constituting a part of a small community, which has its own language, spoken by only 300 000 people worldwide, its own identity and culture. I am especially proud of the fact that all my life, I could live and work in great conditions in an international environment. 🎬 “My favourite Luxembourgish film will always be a movie called “Troublemaker”. It’s a funny gangster-road movie from the 1980s. I actually helped record its soundtrack, as I was also a musician in my younger years! 🎆 “The celebration of the national day starts in the evening of the day before, with lots of different cultural activities, a torchlight procession, spectacular fireworks and a big party in the old town. The national day itself starts with an official ceremony, followed by a military parade and a religious ceremony called “Te Deum” in the cathedral of Luxembourg City.”

📢 The rules of visa-free travel to Europe will change in the first half of 2025 with #ETIAS ❓ Once ETIAS launches, travellers from 60 visa-free countries around the world will be required to apply for a travel authorisation to enter 30 European countries. The applications will be submitted on the EU’s official website https://lnkd.in/eAfizpKw  🚀 The number of unofficial ETIAS websites identified by #Frontex has skyrocketed to over 100 as we get closer to the launch. Some of these websites even claim to be accepting ETIAS applications, even though the system is not yet operational. 🔗 Read more about the risks posed by unofficial ETIAS websites on our website:  https://lnkd.in/dYfE-Ygv 

The #EUBorderGuard is growing stronger! 👮♀️👮 #Frontex launched a new EU border guard contingent in Italy and Malta, marking a shift in the agency’s operational structure.   We’ve grown to become the EU’s largest and most operational agency, and with that comes a responsibility to evolve. The growth of our standing corps has fundamentally shifted the centre of gravity away from our headquarters, necessitating a new operational structure.    The new chain of command brings more power to the commanders in the field who are in close contact with the Member States. This ensures that we can respond more efficiently and effectively to the needs of our partners, continuously enhancing the training and deployment processes to better support our shared mission of border security.   “Our new field command structure is designed to provide clear lines of authority, efficient channels of communication and a supportive environment that enables our officers to perform at their best. We are not just managing our standing corps, we are building a team that embodies the spirit of cooperation and excellence,” said Frontex Deputy Director for Operations Lars Gerdes.   Our goal to remain an agile, robust, and reliable partner for national authorities!

The #EUBorderGuard is growing stronger! 👮♀️👮 #Frontex launched a new EU border guard contingent in Italy and Malta, marking a shift in the agency’s operational structure.   We’ve grown to become the EU’s largest and most operational agency, and with that comes a responsibility to evolve. The growth of our standing corps has fundamentally shifted the centre of gravity away from our headquarters, necessitating a new operational structure.    The new chain of command brings more power to the commanders in the field who are in close contact with the Member States. This ensures that we can respond more efficiently and effectively to the needs of our partners, continuously enhancing the training and deployment processes to better support our shared mission of border security.   “Our new field command structure is designed to provide clear lines of authority, efficient channels of communication and a supportive environment that enables our officers to perform at their best. We are not just managing our standing corps, we are building a team that embodies the spirit of cooperation and excellence,” said Frontex Deputy Director for Operations Lars Gerdes.   Our goal to remain an agile, robust, and reliable partner for national authorities!

Busy week at the headquarters! Frontex is hosting an annual meeting of its Liaison Officers who connect the Agency with the national border and coast guard authorities. Nearly twenty Frontex Liaison Officers have arrived at Frontex headquarters in Warsaw to take part in a week-long information and exchange session. Liaison officers are Frontex’s points of contact with the national authorities in the EU and non-EU countries. Once a year, they meet to discuss and evaluate cooperation, network with experts from the Agency and learn about the new policies and priorities to enhance the cooperation with respective national authorities. At the welcome session, the Executive Director Hans Leijtens set out clear direction for the Agency and gave clear guidance to the FLOs, 'We want to develop a new concept of partnership with the EU and non-EU countries where we are present. Instead of being a supplier of resources, we want to become their partner standing by their side. It is an important shift in our dialogue – from what the country wants to what it really needs. This way, Frontex gains a better understanding of the challenges and can offer tangible solutions to the existing or arising problems.’ Apart from the official meetings, the participants have also had a chance to meet Frontex fundamental rights monitors, analysts dealing with risk and vulnerability assessments as well as policy experts who briefed them on key developments, including the new Pact on Migration and Asylum, which will entail significant new tasks and procedures for the Member States and for #Frontex. Read more: https://lnkd.in/drgiJXTK

🛟 SOS! The regional search and rescue workshop has come to an end! Organised by #Frontex and the Italian Coast Guard, it aimed to exercise skills needed in mass rescue operations and to strengthen the cooperation in the Adriatic and Ionian Sea between Greece and Italy 🤝 📍 The workshop took place in Bari, Italy, gathering 40 participants from Member States, 21 participants from 11 non-EU countries, as well as European Fisheries Control Agency - EFCA, European Maritime Safety Agency, European Union Agency for Asylum – EUAA and UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency. 🔎 During the two-day workshop, participants have discussed case studies, potential vulnerabilities, required capabilities, and the protection of fundamental rights.  🌊 The second day was fully committed to an international multipurpose maritime exercise, where officers from the Italian Coast Guard, Hellenic Coast Guard and other participating authorities could exercise their skills in a real scenario situation focused on mass rescue operations.  🔗 For more, visit our website: https://lnkd.in/d__JANtq

📢 #Frontex has just issued the Guidelines for the Common Minimum Standards for Border Surveillance! 📏 👉 a comprehensive compendium of border surveillance knowledge 👉 a harmonised approach to the European land, air and maritime borders 👉 a common minimum denominator for the adequate, effective, and timely performance of border surveillance at the EU’s external borders to maintain the necessary capacity and readiness against various short-term and long-term risks 📋 The Guidelines cover strategic, operational, and tactical level factors impacting Member States’ situational awareness and reaction capabilities. They address three border environments: air, land, and sea. 🚀 “This is an important step in harmonising national practices in border surveillance,” said Darek Saunders, Head of Research and Innovation Unit at Frontex. “Our Guidelines complement and align the border surveillance standards with the existing initiatives addressing European integrated border management”. 🔗 Read more: https://lnkd.in/dG5YKndq

How do you go from a skilled dog specialist to a Frontex-certified instructor? 👨🎓 💡 For one, you can take part in the European Course for Canine Team Instructors – special training for experienced dog handlers, who want to train other officers on how to work with service dogs 🐶 👋 We meet Anton Radu from the #Frontex Academy, as well as Ivo and Baiba, two participants in the course. Watch their practical exams and find out what it takes to be a dog handler and instructor! The course is for all law enforcement officers: border guards, policemen, firemen 👮♀️👮 “We talk about law enforcement in general because for the dog, the uniform doesn't matter – the animal doesn't know that it works for the border guard or for the police or for the fire department. You cannot institutionalise a dog,” says Radu, an education design specialist and originator of the course.