Frontex
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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| Formation: - Signed - Established |
October 26, 2004 May 1, 2005 |
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| Superseding pillar: | European Communities | |||
| Director: | Ilkka Laitinen | |||
| Website: | frontex.europa.eu | |||
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Frontex (from French: Frontières extérieures, legally: European Agency for the Management of Operational Cooperation at the External Borders of the Member States of the European Union), headquartered in Warsaw, Poland, is the external border security agency of the European Union. It is also the first EU agency to be based in one of the 'new' members of the EU. It is responsible for co-ordinating the activities of the national border guards in ensuring the security of the EU's borders with non-member states. Frontex was established by Council Regulation (EC) 2007/2004. The agency started to be operational on October 3, 2005. The Agency is managed by its Executive Director, Ilkka Laitinen.
Frontex' mission is to help EU Member States implement EU rules on external border controls and to coordinate operational cooperation between Member States in the field of external border management. It is, of course, up to each member state to control its own borders, but the Agency will help ensure that they all do so with the same high standard of efficiency.
The main tasks of FRONTEX include:
- coordination of operational cooperation between Member States in the field of management of external borders;
- assistance to Member States in the training of national border guards
- carrying out risk analyses;
- following up the development of research relevant for the control and surveillance of external borders;
- assistance to Member States in circumstances requiring increased technical and operational assistance at external borders;
- providing Member States with the necessary support in organising joint return operations.
As of 26 January 2007, it is reportedly struggling to recuit staff.[1]
