On 12-13 June, the Chief of the State Border Guard, General Guntis Pujāts, participated in the 100th meeting of the Management Board of the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (FRONTEX), which took place in Brussels, the capital of Belgium.
The meeting took strategic decisions and addressed key issues related to the performance of FRONTEX's functions. During the 100th Management Board meeting, representatives discussed the operational situation at the external borders of the European Union and the priority actions to be implemented, as well as the efficient and quality performance of FRONTEX's functions in the field of management of illegal migration and returns.
At the same time, the Management Board paid particular attention to the rational and efficient implementation of the Agency's budget, the prioritisation of activities, the Pact on Migration and Asylum, fundamental rights issues, as well as support for voluntary and forced return.
During the 100th Management Board meeting, the Chief of the State Border Guard met with the Permanent Representative of the Republic of Latvia to the European Union, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Lelde Līce-Līcīte. During the meeting G.Pujāts and L.Līce-Līcīte discussed the situation on the Latvian - Belarusian and Latvian - Russian borders, Latvia's request for additional funding to address the instrumentalisation crisis, support provided by FRONTEX to Latvia and support provided by Latvia to other countries in the framework of joint operations organised by FRONTEX.
The SBG Chief and the Permanent Representative of the Republic of Latvia to the European Union, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, also discussed the Schengen evaluation and vulnerability assessment, as well as the progress of the current draft European Union (EU) legislation and the implementation of newly adopted EU legislation such as the Pact on Migration and Asylum and large-scale information systems - the Entry/Exit System (EES) and the European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS).