May 27 (SeeNews) - The European Council said it has approved the conclusion of agreements with Montenegro and Serbia on border management cooperation between the two countries and the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex).
The agreements will allow Frontex to assist Montenegro and Serbia in border management, carry out joint operations and deploy teams in the regions of the two countries that border the EU, the European Council said in a statement on Tuesday.
"Close cooperation with our Western Balkan partners is essential if we are to address the shared migratory challenges which we face. The agreements concluded today on border management cooperation with Montenegro and Serbia are an important part of our overall strategy on border management," Croatian interior minister Davor Bozinovic said in the statement.
Montenegro has notified its conclusion of the agreement, which will enter into force on July 1, while the conclusion procedure by Serbia has not yet been finalised, the European Council said.
A first agreement on border management cooperation was concluded with Albania in 2019. Following this, Frontex launched the first-ever joint operation on the territory of a neighbouring non-EU country in Albania on May 22, 2019. Similar status agreements have also been initialled with North Macedonia (in July 2018) and Bosnia and Herzegovina (in January 2019) and are pending finalisation.