The European Union’s border and coast guard agency (Frontex) and the Republic of Serbia signed a cooperation agreement that facilitates increased cooperation and enhanced border management operations on Tuesday. This new agreement sets out to replace the current framework introduced in 2021 and finalizes negotiations that began in May 2023.

As per the Commission’s press release, the agreement will allow Frontex to “carry out joint operations and deploy the European Border and Coast Guard standing corps anywhere on the territory of Serbia.” Frontex currently has over 480 officers deployed in the Western Balkans, with 111 officers already stationed in Serbia, and maintains other border management cooperation agreements with Moldova, North Macedonia, Montenegro and Albania.

Furthermore, the agreement is part of the EU’s wider Action Plan on the Western Balkans presented by the Commission in 2022, which was introduced with the aim of decreasing migratory pressures and secondary movements on the Western Balkans route. It also seeks to enhance security across the EU and its borders by reinforcing border management and preventing illegal migration and cross-border crime.

According to the European Council, the Western Balkans route, which passes through Türkiye, Bulgaria, Northern Macedonia and Serbia, is one of the main migratory routes into Europe and hence the EU, reaching its peak in 2015 with record-breaking arrivals of irregular migrants.

For its final entry into force, the agreement is subject to an approval process dependent upon the consent of the European Parliament and the council implementing the final conclusion of the agreement, as well as the conclusion of the national ratification procedure in Serbia.