EU's Frontex deploys border guards in joint operation with North Macedonia

A member of the European border and costal guard FRONTEX talks with a Macedonian policeman during the ceremony for the official start of the joint border control with Macedonian police in Skopje April 20, 2023. REUTERS/Ognen Teofilovski

SKOPJE (Reuters) - The European Union's border agency, Frontex, started deploying guards at North Macedonia's southern border with Greece on Thursday in a joint operation with Skopje to control and prevent illegal migration and cross-border crime.

Under an agreement signed last October, Frontex will deploy more than 100 guards at the border, Frontex officials said. The agreement is valid until Jan. 24 2024 but may be extended.