Another group of standing corps officers ready for deployment

Last week, 323 standing corps cadets graduated from their basic trainings in Avila, Spain and Lisbon, Portugal.

The newly graduated officers are now fully-fledged members of the European standing corps and will soon join their colleagues already working all along EU’s external borders and in non-EU countries. There are currently about 2000 Frontex staff and officers working at the external borders, taking part in 18 operations.

Frontex Executive Director a.i. Aija Kalnaja attended both graduations and warmly congratulated the officers for completing the demanding training programme.

The graduation ceremony in Lisbon was accompanied by a conference on the recent challenges at EU’s external borders which gathered high-level representatives from EU and national authorities. EU Commissioner for Home Affairs, Ylva Johansson, addressed the officers in a video message and thanked them for their readiness to secure EU’s external borders.

In Avila, the graduation ceremony took place in the academy of the Spanish Police in the presence of high-ranking officials from service, including its General Director, Mr. Francisco Pardo Piqueras.

The basic training aims to ensure that members of the standing corps have the necessary theoretical and practical competences, including in relation to the prevention of violence and use of force, to operate in a unitary manner in any particular operational area.

The officers will wear blue uniforms that represent the entire European Union and protect the European area of freedom, security and justice.