Frontex held its third annual European Day for Border Guards (ED4BG) on May 24. This year’s edition of ED4BG hosted record numbers of participants and speakers as well as exhibitors from private industry and the border authorities of the Member States and International Organisations.
The event’s main discussion this year was entitled “Gates or Bridges? The future of border control” during which expert views on the most important issues of the times were shared by representatives of IOM, Europol, Frontex and researchers. As a forum for open discussion and exchange of ideas between the key players of migration and border management, the opportunities for airing expert knowledge is certainly unique. The maindebate was followed by four further panel discussions encompassing ethics in border control, information exchange, the Smart Borders initiative and multi-purpose joint maritime operations.
Prior to the panel discussions, Frontex formally launched its revised Common Core Curriculum (CCC) for EU border guard training, which is now mandatory for implementation in all Member States, and awarded certificates of recognition to members of the working group responsible for developing the revised CCC. Next year’s ED4BG is scheduled for May 23 2013.
