In Belgrade on Thursday 20 September, Commissioner for Migration Dimitris Avrampoulos and Interior Minister Nebojša Stefanović of Serbia initialled an agreement allowing the deployment in Serbia of European border guard and coast guard teams.
Under the agreement, the teams will be able to assist Serbia in border management and to carry out joint operations with Serbia, in particular in the event of a sudden change in migratory flows, the Commission states in a press release.
Once the agreement has taken effect, the European border and coast guard agency will be able to conduct operational activities and deploy teams in the regions of Serbia that border on the EU, in agreement with both the Serbian authorities and the authorities of the bordering EU member states.
This agreement is the third to be initialled with the countries of the Western Balkans, after Albania in February and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia in July (see EUROPE 12065).
The agreement, to be signed once the legal procedures have been completed, also requires approval from the European Parliament. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)