Today, the European Union and Montenegro have signed an upgraded agreement on operational cooperation in border management with the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex). The agreement was signed by Commissioner for Home Affairs, Ylva Johansson, and Minister of Justice Gunnar Strömmer representing the Swedish Presidency to the Council, on behalf of the European Union, and by Interior Minister Filip Adžić, on behalf of Montenegro.

The signature of this agreement is a tangible deliverable on the EU Action Plan on the Western Balkans, presented by the Commission in December 2022. Strengthened operational cooperation between Western Balkans partners and Frontex will contribute to addressing irregular migration and further enhance security at the EU’s external borders.

Frontex already deploys around 500 officers in the region, including through joint operations at the Union’s external borders with Albania, North Macedonia and Serbia, as well as via the previous status agreement with Montenegro, which entered into force on 1 July 2020. Two ongoing joint operations are conducted under the previous status agreement with Montenegro, and will continue under this new agreement.

The new agreement will allow Frontex to support Montenegro through the deployment of personnel to its borders with its neighbouring Western Balkans partners, in addition to the country’s border with the European Union (as it was the case under the previous agreement).