The agency established Focal Points to offer longer-term exchanges of specialised border guards at key points at the external borders of the EU. Working in other member states together with peers from different backgrounds and facing different challenges provides a unique opportunity for officers to exchange experience and technical support.
The core idea of Focal Points is to contribute to the implementation of the Integrated Border Management concept at EU’s external land borders. Frontex deploys officers at key border crossing points at Europe’s land borders stretching from Norway and Finland to Bulgaria and Greece.
Each Focal Point is activated to assist local authorities with border checks in order to better manage the flow of irregular migration, as well as combat cross-border crime, including the use of forged documents, movement of smuggled goods such as stolen cars and illegal drugs.
Operation Focal Points in numbers (1 Jan 2016-22 Sept 2016)
Irregular Migrants: 2 092
People smugglers arrested: 40
Refusals of entry: 77 841
Falsified documents: 2 207
Smuggled cigarettes seized: 11.3 mln
Stolen vehicles seized: 350