Following is the text of European Commissioner Frattini’s opening speech at the Vth Annual Ministerial Conference on Co-operation on Border Security in the Western Balkans, in Budva, Montenegro, February 21:

Global threats, global markets, and global media are today’s reality. Our local concerns are common concerns. Border management is one such common concern.

We must work together on common border and security challenges. Integrated Border Management is crucial for improving regional stability in the Western Balkans. It facilitates the legitimate movement of people and goods.

Together we must tackle illegal cross-border activities. We must fight organised crime, including corruption and illegal migration, trafficking in weapons, drugs smuggling, and trafficking in human beings. The International Organisation for Migration estimates that almost half a million women are trafficked each year through the Western Balkans.

Their destination is often Europe. This shows our shared interest in the EU and the Western Balkans. And our moral duty to stamp out this modern slavery and other abhorrent cross border crimes.

I welcome the progress made on implementing and updating the National Integrated Border Management Strategies and their Action Plans in line with EU standards. I encourage the Western Balkans countries to continue efforts.

The EU will continue to support the relevant Border Authorities in Western Balkans countries to carry out the necessary reforms for effective border control.

Already significant efforts have been made. For example with the introduction of new regulations, and with the organisation and structure of the Border Authorities. Current legislative changes are important. We expect to see new specific regulations on the functions of the Border Police. The process of demilitarisation and professionalization are also important.

Only by working together will we succeed. We need to strengthen inter-agency cooperation for good border management. Border guards, customs, police, national security and other relevant authorities must work together. We also need international cooperation with neighbouring countries. This can include practical measures — exchanging experiences on border control issues, training border guards, exchanging operational information and conducting joint operations.

Such joint efforts will improve surveillance coordination with neighbouring countries and facilitate border management and control.

I also welcome efforts to promote closer regional cooperation. For example to tackle illegal migration, cooperation with FRONTEX [1] is crucial here. We are close to concluding working arrangements with Croatia and in the process of negotiating and concluding working arrangements with all the other Western Balkans countries.

Again practical measures including exchanging experiences on border control, training, and joint operations have a key role. FRONTEX has finalised a joint risk analysis with EUROPOL on the Western Balkans. This included an assessment of the high risk illegal migration routes through the Western Balkans. This aims to set up joint teams in the region and assist with long-term operations. Steps to improve the exchange of information have been taken already.

The Ohrid Process on Border Security and Management [2] was successfully completed at the end of 2007. Most of the commitments have been achieved [3] therefore partner organisations took a decision to terminate the process. Cooperation in this area will continue under the Regional Cooperation Council.

New technology, with its speed and sophistication, challenges traditional national borders. A click on a computer screen or a call from a mobile phone can send information round the world instantly. Technology brings new challenges but also new opportunities.

We must welcome new technology. New technology is not the sole preserve of terrorists or criminals. Governments and law enforcing agencies must use technology to better protect citizens’ security. Our response must be as sophisticated as the criminals’.

In order to respond, investment in infrastructure and technical equipment at the border crossing points is needed. Considerable work and investment are still required. I urge you to secure budgetary resources. A more effective border data management system and communication system are also needed.

There remains a lack of technical equipment to examine and detect falsified documents at the border crossing point. Staff training is lacking, and intelligence needs to be better shared.

Falsified documents are used along the high risk Western Balkans routes, both by people from countries in the region and by illegal migrants from other countries. The Western Balkans is used as a transit area. The EU is the ultimate target.

The introduction of biometric and new technologies will have a significant impact on border control systems. Better security standards in travel documents are vital. New technology in this area offers vast opportunities. It should be exploited to enhance border control operations. Ethical concerns and protecting fundamental rights must be taken into account.

Staff training to detect and identify false documents and counterfeit identity and travel documents must also be supported. Technology is part of a wider response to this problem. It cannot offer a solution on its own.

Therefore Border Police Services must be reinforced. For example through the development and implementation of a comprehensive Human Resources and Training Strategy. Vacancies must be filled and new staff recruited and trained.

The Commission is presenting a package of three Communications to reinforce every dimension of border control that is border checks, border surveillance and operational coordination thereby promoting truly integrated border management and paving the way for a revamped control strategy which would meet the challenges of a globalised world.

This package comprehensively addresses the further development of border management, in particular, from an operational perspective, and will need to be implemented over the next five to eight years, alongside introduction of the VIS and SIS II.

On this basis, the Commission is proposing:
 To launch a discussion on the possibility of setting up a system requiring third-country nationals to obtain an electronic authorisation to travel.
 To promote a registered traveller programme to facilitate border checks for certain categories of frequent travellers from third countries.
 To consider an entry/exit system to record, when the border check is carried out, the dates of entry and exit of each third-country national admitted to the Schengen area, using biometric identifiers.
 To create a European Border Surveillance System (EUROSUR), to improve the surveillance of the external border.
 To reinforce operational coordination between Member States via the Frontex Agency by fully exploiting the current mandate of the Agency, in particular by intensifying joint operations between Member States, including sea border patrols, and by launching a debate on the long-term development of the Agency.

The Commission is launching a dialogue on visa liberalisation with Western Balkan countries. Progress with border management will be one crucial factor deciding upon the speed of movement towards visa liberalisation for each country.

In conclusion, integrated border management is one of the key challenges which lies ahead. Today’s global and technological world present new and ever-evolving challenges. So too do those people seeking profit through trafficking, illegal immigration or other forms of organised crime. We must therefore work together to ensure our border management is fit for these 21st century challenges. I welcome the progress made so far in the Western Balkans. There is still more to achieve. The European Commission remains ready to support you.

Opening speech of European Commissioner Mr. Franco Frattini, February 21, 2008