OTTAWA, ON, Oct. 30, 2026 /CNW/ -- Today, Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) President Erin O'Gorman and Frontex (European Border and Coast Guard Agency) Executive Director Hans Leijtens, signed a new Working Arrangement on Operational Cooperation in Montreal during the European Union (EU)–Canada summit.
As a result of this new arrangement, the two organizations will deepen their operational cooperation and information exchanges related to cross-border issues, including criminal threats and migration, while maintaining strong privacy and data protection safeguards. Closer cooperation will help tackle migrant smuggling, human trafficking, and document and identity fraud.
The arrangement also creates new opportunities for cooperation on research, technology and innovation, including the exchange of best practices on border management tools. It is a means to exchange information and analysis through EUROSUR, the European Border Surveillance System.
The new arrangement will also support joint training and professional exchanges, allowing the agencies to apply shared expertise to their work.
As one of CBSA's major operational partners in Europe, Frontex, the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, supports EU Member States and Schengen-associated countries in managing the EU's external borders, tackling cross-border crime and supporting removals. Arrangements such as this provide a way for Frontex to cooperate with authorities outside the EU.
Frontex and CBSA signed their first working arrangement in Warsaw in October 2010, making Canada one of Frontex's first partners outside Europe. The 2010 working agreement has permitted the exchange of information on fraudulent documents being used for entry to Canada and has supported Frontex and other European organizations in their efforts to combat organized crime. The new arrangement will provide opportunities to deepen this relationship, helping both agencies better identify emerging threats and strengthen their border management capabilities.
"Expanding our partnership with Frontex marks an important step forward in strengthening Canada's border security and sovereignty. Through closer cooperation, we can combine our expertise and technological knowledge to help combat transnational crime and keep communities on both sides of the Atlantic safe."
Erin O'Gorman, President, Canada Border Services Agency
"A lot has changed since we first signed a working arrangement with the CBSA in 2010, not least in the way criminal networks work. They adapt quickly, including in their use of technology, and keeping pace with them requires close cooperation and sharing our expertise. That cooperation cannot stop at the edge of a continent. Our partnership with Canada rests on a shared idea of excellence in border management: effective, within the law, and trusted by the people it serves."
Hans Leijtens, Executive Director, Frontex, the European Border and Coast Guard Agency
Quick facts
- The CBSA and Frontex have worked together on border management since 2010. This includes on
- Project FIELDS (Frontex-Interpol Electronic Library Document System)--a joint Interpol/Frontex project to assist front line border and police officers in identifying fraudulent documents. The CBSA National Document Centre is participating to help develop visual decision aids that highlight the key security features of identity documents.
- European Travel Information and Authorization System (ETIAS)--CBSA and Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) have provided input on Canadian Electronic Travel Authorization (eTA) risk and intelligence trends to Frontex's ETIAS Central Unit.
- Third Country Observer Exchange Program--a job-shadowing exercise where CBSA follow Frontex personnel in Europe and Frontex personnel do the same in Canada at airports and other border locations. CBSA also participates in Frontex Operational heads of Airport Conferences.
- The signing of the Working Arrangement completes an action item out of the 2025 Canada-EU Summit in Brussels and supports the broader Canada- European Union Security and Defence Partnership.
- Frontex currently has active working arrangements with the authorities of 17 non-EU countries, including the United Kingdom and the United States. More on Frontex's cooperation with non-EU countries is available on the Frontex website.
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Frontex (European Border and Coast Guard Agency)
Email: [email protected]
SOURCE Canada Border Services Agency
Contacts: Media Relations, Canada Border Services Agency, [email protected], 1-877-761-5945
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