On Wednesday, August 5, 2020, Minister Herbert Reul sent off two police officers from North Rhine-Westphalia on their Frontex mission in Albania. The police officers from Düsseldorf and Siegburg will spend four weeks in Korce and Gjirokastra with a colleague from the Federal Police and the Albanian police at the borders to prevent illegal entries and register migrants in an orderly manner. "The security of the external borders is essential for the security of North Rhine-Westphalia. We cannot and do not want to leave other states to deal with this alone. We are only strong together, security is not a solo act. Security needs an orchestra. We need cooperation with our European partners, because criminals today no longer take borders into consideration," said Reul.
North Rhine-Westphalia is Germany's leader in international police missions. More than 200 police officers from North Rhine-Westphalia have already been on Frontex missions in Greece, Italy, Bulgaria and Spain. Now, for the first time, they will also be deployed outside the territory of the EU, in Albania. The promotion of international police missions is part of the coalition agreement. The registration of refugees in countries with external EU borders leads to a reduction in illegal migration to the EU and therefore also to Germany. "North Rhine-Westphalia wants to influence the management of international crises in order to be able to take countermeasures in the event of grievances. For the good of the citizens of our country, but also for the good of the refugees, to whom we also feel an obligation. What goes wrong in Greece or Albania can fall on our shoulders at home," said Reul.
Frontex (French: "frontières extérieures") is the European Border and Coast Guard Agency based in Warsaw. It was founded in 2004. The agency was expanded and strengthened in 2016. Since then, it has not only controlled migration flows and protected borders, but also combated cross-border crime. The agency's mandate was also expanded to include search and rescue tasks; in 2018 alone, around 37,000 people were rescued by Frontex officers.
