Quelle: Frontex

Frontex agreed with Greece today to expand its activities to the country’s border with the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, where the agency will assist with registration of migrants. The deployment of additional officers will begin next week.

A joint field visit conducted by the Greek authorities and Frontex will take place as soon as possible in order to work out the technical details of the deployment.

“It is crucial that all migrants entering the European Union are properly registered. Migrants at Greece’s northern border will be checked and those found not properly identified will be registered,” said Frontex Executive Director Fabrice Leggeri.

The strengthening of Frontex’s existing operation on the Greek islands and assistance in the registration and fingerprinting of migrants at Greece’s land borders were among the conclusions of the Western Balkans Route Leaders’ Summit in October.

Frontex is already assisting the Greek authorities in identifying and registering incoming migrants. The agency currently has 195 officers on the Aegean islands most affected by migratory flows, identifying migrants and collecting intelligence about people smuggling networks. Just in the hotspot on Lesbos, Frontex currently deploys nearly 83 officers.

In October, Frontex called on Member States to provide 775 border guards for its activities, with 600 to be deployed in Greece. Member States have so far offered 447 officers.