The first six officers on a mission from Frontex, the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, are joining Lithuanian border guards in patrolling Lithuania’s border with Belarus on Friday.
Border guards from France, Hungary and Germany deployed by the agency will help patrol border sections controlled by Kapčiamiestis and Druskininkai checkpoints. They will join patrolling teams led by officers of the Lithuanian State Border Guard Service.
The number of European Border and Coast Guard Standing Corps officers deployed by Frontex to the Lithuanian border with Belarus will be gradually increased to 30 by mid-July. Foreign border guards will arrive in Lithuania with their own weapons and vehicles.
Lithuania has asked Frontex for assistance due to a recent surge in the number of irregular migrants attempting to cross into Lithuania from Belarus.
A total of 672 migrants, most of them claiming to be from Iraq, have been detained in Lithuania so far this year after they entered the country from Belarus, considerably more than in previous years.
One of Frontex’s core activities is to provide assistance to EU Member States in cases where they need operational and technical support at the Community’s external borders, need to organise the returns of migrants, etc.
The agency coordinates cooperation between EU Member States in relation to the management of external borders, provides assistance to member states related to the training and further training of border guards and the establishment of common training requirements.
Moreover, the agency carries out risk analyses and monitors the developments in research related to the control of external borders.
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