(ANSA) - BRUSSELS, MAY 20 - The launch of the first joint operation of the European Border and Coast Guard (Frontex) at Albania and Greece's border to manage migration flows will take place tomorrow morning in Tirana. This is the first time that the coast guard and European border troops are deployed in the territory of an extra-EU country. EU Commissioner for Migration Dimitris Avramopoulos will be in Tirana to participate in the launch of the first joint operation, alongside the Executive Director of Frontex Fabrice Leggeri, Prime Minister of Albania Edi Rama, and Minister of Interior of Albania Sandër Lleshaj, who will then jointly review the staff and equipment to be deployed at the Albanian-Greek border.

The operation marks a new phase of cooperation between EU countries and the Western Balkans. The agreement between Brussels and Tirana was ratified on October 5, 2018 and entered into force last May 1. It represents the first of similar border cooperation agreements signed between the EU and the other Western Balkans, which will enter into force in the coming months. (ANSA).