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On 7-8 May, Frontex is co-hosting a conference with the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD) to discuss border management cooperation in the Mediterranean region, acknowledging that closer cooperation on international migration is needed amid heightened security concerns. The event, held under the auspices of the Bulgarian Presidency of the Council of the EU, brings together representatives from the EU Member States and countries from the EU’s southern neighbourhood.

“Mobility and migration represent an opportunity for societies, economies and individuals to grow and develop,” said Frontex Executive Director Fabrice Leggeri. “However, not all the consequences of this increased movement are so positive, with poverty, war, climate change, and organised crime driving increasing numbers of travellers and goods across the globe.”

Challenges in one country or region have direct and often very immediate effect elsewhere. Through its new mandate, Frontex has been transformed into a fully-fledged internal security actor with far greater scope for action in the area of cross-border crime, including counter-terrorism. The Agency is therefore now in a position to assist its partners in upgrading its border management systems and increasing the ability of national authorities to apprehend and prosecute people smugglers, detect false documents, and spot potential terrorists.

Even as border authorities are under enormous pressure to strengthen their border management systems, the complexity of border management is being influenced by new technological innovation, a topic of focus throughout the conference. 

“It wasn’t so many years ago that we were just getting used to information exchange, and familiarising ourselves with the information technology used in this field,” said Frontex Deputy Director Berndt Körner. “Now, though, we are focusing on interoperability and interconnectivity, on targeted information, on actionable information and on manageable information quantities. This is crucial to ensure that we have the right information available at the right time, in the right place and for the right purpose.”

With all countries across the Mediterranean region facing significant challenges related to security and migration, conference participants agreed that a comprehensive border management concept is becoming increasingly important to counteract the potential of unfolding events to undermine their own domestic stability.