National authorities

The Finnish Border Guard is a multi-mission service under the Ministry of the Interior. The main task of the Border Guard is to maintain border security. Accordingly, it is responsible for border surveillance at land and sea borders and border controls at border crossing points at land, sea, and air borders. The Border Guard is the leading maritime search and rescue authority and since 2019 it is also responsible for marine pollution response operations on the high seas. The Border Guard also prevents cross-border crime as part of its core duties and participates in national defence. The Border Guard is responsible for the national cooperation with the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, Frontex and participates in international cooperation related to its duties. The Headquarters of the Border Guard is in Helsinki, and it serves in parallel as the Border Guard Department of the Ministry of the Interior.

The DNPAF (Direction Nationale de la Police aux Frontières) is a specialized, high value-added department at the heart of internal security issues, particularly with regard to the operational management of migratory flows, border control operations at both the external and internal borders of the Schengen area, the modernization of European information systems, the fight against migrant smuggling and the return of irregular immigrants. As such, the DNPAF is heavily involved in international police cooperation, and also plays an advisory role for the Ministry of the Interior and Overseas France's international strategy, working with the Directorate General for Foreigners in France (DGEF) and the Directorate for European and International Affairs (DAEI).

The management of major events organized in France, technological challenges in terms of "smart borders", the fight against documentary or identity fraud, the quest for greater fluidity in major airports, train stations and international ports in conjunction with the companies operating these infrastructures, the evolution of rules and mechanisms in the Schengen area, and the rationalization of the national police's air and sea resources, are also very important concerns for the DNPAF.