Joint OSCE/Frontex meeting explores ways to strengthen document checks at borders in South-Eastern Europe

Exploring ways to further strengthen capabilities for document checks at border controls in South-Eastern Europe was the focus of an online meeting held on 29 April 2021 as a follow-up to the 2019 Co-ordination Conference on Preventing Document Fraud — co-operation in South Eastern Europe. The meeting was jointly organized by the Border Security and Management Unit of the OSCE’s Transnational Threats Department and the Frontex Center of Excellence for Combating Document Fraud.

The meeting participants comprised 30 representatives from international and regional organizations, as well as competent national authorities from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia. They discussed the strategic role of document checks, both for borders control and the identity chain.

In his opening remarks, Dennis Cosgrove, Head of the OSCE Border Security and Management Unit, highlighted the importance of efficient detection of forged documents to counter the illegal movement of terrorists, criminals and traffickers of all kinds, as well as the new forms of forged documents connected with COVID-19 and future vaccine passports. He stressed the benefits of co-operation and joint efforts to increase synergies among international, regional and national stakeholders and to maximize the benefits of training and support for South-Eastern European countries.

Claudio Kavrecic, Head of the Frontex Centre of Excellence for Combatting Document Fraud, emphasized the importance of linking strategy to operations at the border in document and identity control and the mutual benefits of co-operation in tackling document fraud worldwide.

“International organizations must have a common vision for the way forward in implementing a strategic approach, comparing existing capabilities and bringing up to the required level to fight document fraud,” said Szabolcs Horvath, Team Leader of the Frontex Centre of Excellence for Combating Document Fraud.

During the meeting, participants also familiarized themselves with a draft document that sets out a list of minimum recommended capabilities in document checks at borders. The document is a tool developed in part by drawing on the conclusions of the 2019 Conference. The document is a joint product of the organizations that participated in the 2019 Conference: International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD), INTERPOL, International Organization for Migration (IOM), FRONTEX, OSCE, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and Police Cooperation Convention for Southeast Europe Secretariat (PCC SEE), with the support of Migration Asylum Refugee Regional Initiative (MARRI) and Southeast European Law Enforcement Center (SELEC)

While developing the document, the participating organizations called for South-Eastern European countries to contribute to the draft document, assessing its applicability to their national context and considering existing capabilities.

The OSCE’s POLIS platform, a workspace specifically designed for sharing information and collaborating on documents in a protected environment, was also presented during the meeting. It will be used by the participants and competent authorities to collaborate on and contribute to the draft document.