From 12 to 13 June 2024, the Chief of the State Border Guard, general Guntis Pujāts participated in the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (FRONTEX) 100th Board meeting, held in Brussels.
During the meeting, strategic decisions were taken and key issues related to ensuring the performance of FRONTEX functions were addressed. During the 100th Board meeting, representatives discussed the operational situation at the external borders of the European Union and the priority actions to be implemented, as well as the effective and high-quality performance of FRONTEX functions in the field of illegal migration management and return.
At the same time, special attention was paid during the Board meeting to the rational and full implementation of the FRONTEX's budget, prioritization of activities to be implemented, the Asylum and Migration Pact, fundamental rights issues, as well as support for voluntary and forced return.
During the 100th Board meeting, the Chief of the State Border Guard met with Lelde Līce-Līcīte, the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, Permanent Representative of the Republic of Latvia to the European Union. During the meeting, G. Pujāts and L. Līce-Līcīte discussed issues regarding the situation on the Latvian-Belarusian and Latvian-Russian border, the request for additional funding from Latvia to address the instrumentalization crisis, the support provided by FRONTEX to Latvia and the support provided by Latvia to other countries within the framework of joint operations organized by FRONTEX.
The Chief of the State Border Guard also discussed the Schengen evaluation and vulnerability assessment as well as the progress of the current draft European Union (EU) legislation and the implementation of newly adopted EU legislation such as the Asylum and Migration Pact and large-scale information systems - the Entry/Exit system (EES) and the European travel information and authorization system (ETIAS).
