Frontex and Europol forge closer cooperation
Frontex and Europol took another step towards strengthening the cooperation between the two agencies. Frontex’s Executive Director Hans Leijtens and the Executive Director of Europol Catherine De Bolle signed a joint statement which will further increase the safety and security of the European Union.
In the recent years, the mandates of both EU Agencies have been significantly enhanced, opening new possibilities for working together, particularly in the fields of migrant smuggling and human trafficking.
The joint statement outlines how the two Agencies can better coordinate activities to complement each other and identify concrete priority actions to be achieved in the short and long term.
In practice, Frontex’s role is to provide intelligence form its border surveillance and monitoring. Europol’s role on the other hand is to provide a law enforcement response to organised cross-border crime and terrorism within the EU. Close and efficient partnership between the two Agencies is in this context the way to succeed in common endeavours.
– Our Agencies complement each other and must support each other not only by exchanging operational information but also in how we interpret and implement the new laws and policies, such as the Commission’s proposal for the new Regulation on migrant smuggling, said Frontex Executive Director Hans Leijtens and added: – Today’s statement serves as the basis for closer cooperation, but I am already looking ahead towards the renewal of the Working Agreement with Europol. This will be the ambitious change-maker that will take our partnership to a higher level.
– The joint statement we sign today marks a new chapter in our cooperation with Frontex. As the EU criminal information hub, Europol recognises the importance of bringing together relevant partners for cross-border cooperation and joint actions. We look forward to combining further our respective capabilities and strengths so that the full potential of the mandates of both Agencies can be realised, stated Europol Executive Director Catherine De Bolle.
Frontex and Europol have been working together to counter migrant smuggling, in risk analysis and in operations within the European Multidisciplinary Platform Against Criminal Threats (EMPACT), amongst others.
