Yesterday, on May 30, during a kick-off meeting at the Ministry of the Interior, Mr. Fabrice Leggeri, Executive Director of the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (FRONTEX), presented Mr. Vygintas Kaziukonis, new FRONTEX Liaison Officer to the Baltic States.
The kick-off meeting was attended by the Minister of the Interior Mr. Sandis Ģirģens, the State Secretary of the Ministry of the Interior Mr. Dimitrijs Trofimovs, the Chief of the State Border Guard General Guntis Pujāts, representatives of the Lithuanian and Estonian Border Guard Authorities and Latvian state institutions involved in integrated border management at national level.
During the kick-off meeting, FRONTEX Executive Director stressed the role of the FRONTEX Liaison Officer in the development and facilitation of cooperation between FRONTEX and the Baltic States, pointed out the current and future challenges in the field of border security and management, and expressed the hope that the FRONTEX Liaison Officer will establish good communication with Latvian, Estonian and Lithuanian state authorities.
The FRONTEX Liaison Officer thanked the State Border Guard and the Ministry of the Interior for the work they have done so far, coordinating activities connected with his posting, and at the same time expressed his commitment to establishing and maintaining contact with all relevant competent national authorities.
"The FRONTEX Liaison Officer will further promote cooperation, speed up the promotion of important issues, give the FRONTEX immediate opinion and understanding regarding border management processes and security of our external borders in our countries," said Chief of the State Border Guard General G. Pujāts. He also pointed out that the start of the work of the FRONTEX Liaison Officer exactly now is a strategically important step, as the integrated border management system is currently being reviewed and adapted to ensure uniform implementation of the process across all Member States of the European Union. As well as within the framework of the new European Border and Coast Guard regulation, the joint efforts of all will contribute to more effective migration management, improve the internal security of the EU as a whole and safeguard the principle of free movement of persons within the Schengen Area.
As previously reported, on the basis of the Memorandum of Understanding between the State Border Guard of the Republic of Latvia and the European Border and Coast Guard Agency regarding the hosting of a Liaison Officer in the Republic of Latvia signed on March 27, 2019 in Bucharest, FRONTEX Liaison Officer started work in May 2019.
Information prepered by Kristīne Pētersone