Poland signs deal for 'permanent' Frontex office in Warsaw

The agreement also “defines the legal status for the agency and its employees in Poland,” Frontex’s website said.

The agency’s director Fabrice Leggeri said that the agreement was key to Frontex’s development.

“This means that Frontex will grow in the coming years with the certainty about its future here in Poland,” Leggeri said.

“This includes a settled legal status for the agency and its employees, whose children will be able to attend an accredited European school which will be set up in Warsaw,” he added.

Poland’s Interior Minister Mariusz Błaszczak said: “Today is a good day for Poland and the Frontex agency, which will have its permanent headquarters in Warsaw”.

The deal needs to be ratified by Polish parliament before it enters into effect.

Frontex, also known as the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, manages the European Union’s external borders.

Its tasks include carrying out periodic risk analyses and evaluating vulnerability to threats.

The European agency works closely with border guards of the EU’s 28 member states, including Poland, which lies at the bloc’s eastern frontier. (vb)