Frontex RABIT Deployment to Greece Extended Until March 2011

Frontex Executive Director Ilkka Laitinen signed a decision on December 3 authorising an extension of the Agency’s deployment of Rapid Border Intervention Teams (RABITs) to the Greek-Turkish land border.

The RABIT deployment, initiated by a request on October 24 by Greece, was provisionally planned for two months’ duration from its initiation on November 2, 2010. The new decision extends RABIT 2010 operation until March 3, 2011.

Commenting on the RABIT extension, Ilkka Laitinen said:

“The first ever RABIT deployment has achieved measurable results. Detections of illegal entry at the Greek land border with Turkey have fallen by 44% since October and we hope to see continued benefits from the ongoing efforts of the 26 Member States involved. However, irregular immigration cannot be effectively managed with short-term solutions.”

Reiterating his earlier remarks that border control is not a panacea for irregular immigration and that long-term solutions need to be sought at EU level, the Frontex Executive Director went on to stress that Frontex would not leave the area when the RABIT operation ends.

“We were active in the Evros region before this operation and we will be active afterwards,” he said. “We will follow up this deployment by assessing the provisions of Joint Operation Poseidon Land to ensure that Greece has the appropriate operational support to ensure effective border management in the region.”

Joint Operation Poseidon was launched in 2006 as a sea-based operation on the Greek-Turkish maritime borders. Following a change in migratory trends, however, Poseidon was amended to provide also a permanent land-based component covering the Greek and Bulgarian land borders with Turkey.

Source: http://www.frontex.europa.eu/newsroom/news_releases/art85.html