TIRANA, Jan 16 /ATA/ – Around 92% of the illegal immigrants have been apprehended at Albania’s border crossings of Kapshtice and Kakavije since the country signed an agreement of cooperation with the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (FRONTEX), the Deputy Minister of Interior Andi Mahila told the Parliamentary Committee on Legal Affairs on Tuesday.

The Deputy Interior Minister introduced the draft law on ratification of the agreement between Albania and the European Union on the Agency’s operational activities in the country, saying that the deal was proposed by the EU and it allows FRONTEX staff to exercise executive powers, such as border checks and registration of persons to tackle illegal immigration and cross-border crime.

The new accord will replace the current statutory agreement signed in 2018 and expands its scope. Albania was the first country in the region to cooperate with the European Border and Coast Guard Agency in border management, fighting cross-border crime and return and the scope of the existing deal will expand.

FRONTEX operates on the so-called EU’s external border in Albania’s south and south-eastern border with the neighboring Greece for five years now. The improved agreement with FRONTEX will lay the foundations for a quality and closer cooperation with the police structures to best tackle the illegal immigration and cross-border crime issues through this joint operation.