The draft law (legislation) for the ratification of the Frontex agreement between Macedonia and the European Union (EU) was unanimously supported by the Parliamentary Committee on Foreign Policy. The Minister of Internal Affairs Oliver Spasovski, in front of the members of the commission, clarified that the preparations for this law have started in December 2015, but due to the Bulgaria case as they denied the formulation of the language, its official signing was delayed. The agreement was finally signed on October 26, 2022, in Skopje. Antonio Milososki was asked by the President of the Commision whether the existing bilateral engagements of police officers and security forces from EU member states that are engaged on the southern border will be replaced by Frontex teams, Spasovski said that the Agreement concluded with Frontex does not exclude these bilateral agreements, rather, he says, they also started the process of concluding annexes to the existing agreements in order to settle certain issues. The Minister of Internal Affairs added that until the end of 2023, financial resources and police officers who will participate in these bilateral actions have been secured. The agreement with Frontex will enable better border protection, quick deployment of Frontex personnel and equipment or of foreign police officers at critical points on the borders in the event of a sudden and rapid deterioration of the situation, and also enables a secure exchange of information and data, operational knowledge, intelligence data, products from video and aerial surveillance and satellite images, etc. for the prevention of cross-border crime and illegal migration. The draft legislation for the ratification of the Agreement with the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex), in addition to the Committee on Foreign Policy, was also approved by the Legislative and Legal Committee. The legal proposal for the ratification of the Agreement on Frontex has been put on the agenda of the plenary assembly session, but because of lack of quorum, it was not voted.
Source: telma.mk
