EU signs Frontex cooperation agreement with Serbia

By extending cooperation with countries in the Western Balkan region the EU hopes to tackle irregular migration more effectively.

Transcript

00:00The European Union and Serbia signed an agreement on operational cooperation in border management

00:08with the European Border and Coast Guard Agency Frontex.

00:13They agreed to start deploying guards across the country's borders, and not just those

00:20with EU members, in a bid to control and prevent illegal migration and cross-border crime.

00:31This is the second agreement of this kind that we signed with Frontex, and thanks to it,

00:37Frontex's police force will be deployed not only on state borders with Bulgaria and Hungary

00:44in the context of the Serbia-Kopno operation, but also on the state borders of Serbia with

00:50third countries.

00:51This will significantly contribute to our joint fight against cross-border crime and irregular

00:57migration.

00:59Serbia is also part of the Balkan route, which also runs via Turkey, Bulgaria and North Macedonia,

01:08a route thousands of people from the Middle East, Afghanistan, Pakistan and North Africa

01:15use annually to reach wealthy Western countries.