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Seven years ago, Frontex, the European Fisheries Control Agency (EFCA), and the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) met for the first time with the aim to create synergies between their respective areas of expertise. All three agencies specialise in maritime and coast-guard related services – bringing them all together expands the potential for efficient cooperation and high-quality support to EU countries – the objective shared by all agencies.

'Pearls rarely change in oysters served on a plate, you have to dive to find them,’ were the opening words of Susan Steele, EFCA's Executive Director, with reference to the significant efforts and achievements by EFCA, EMSA and Frontex to offer support to EU maritime authorities in the framework of coast guard functions. EFCA is the organiser of this year’s event and has been also leading the work of the three agencies in 2024.

The 2024 event happened in a particularly significant context. This year, Frontex is taking over chairmanship of this interagency network and, in the light of its recent restructuring and the introduction of the new chain of command, Frontex Executive Director Hans Leijtens went to Spain with several important messages to share with EFCA and EMSA. One of the most important ones focused on the implementation of multipurpose maritime operations (MMOs):

Multipurpose operations are launched upon the request from one or several Member States and are coordinated jointly by EMSA, EFCA and/or Frontex. They are operational activities in a specific maritime area that require additional cooperation and efforts in the support of the EU countries concerned. The agencies may engage resources and equipment to support the coast guard functions operationally – in 2024, four such operations were launched.

In the face of the new kinds of threats emerging at EU’s external borders, MMOs may offer additional value, especially that they have the potential of increasing operational response at sea relying on an advanced cooperation between national authorities and EU agencies.

The greening component was present throughout all the debates and presentations. One of the priorities of EFCA’s chairmanship was to highlight the ongoing greening initiatives in the European coast guard community. In March 2024, together with EMSA and Frontex, EFCA launched the first edition of the Greening Award Initiative to celebrate the sustainability actions that are carried out and developed across more than 300 coast guard authorities in the EU. 18 greening projects and campaigns were entered into the competition from several EU coast guard authorities in the following categories: greening operations, outreach and awareness, greening at work, stewardship of the seas. Based on the evaluation by the interagency committee, 4 projects were nominated as ‘winner projects’, 8 received special commendations, and all candidates received certificates.

The awards were handed by the three Executive Directors of Frontex, EMSA and EFCA, who all agreed that the initiative should be held biannually to recognise the exceptional efforts of the European coast guard community. And so Maja Markovčić Kostelac, EMSA’s Executive Director, announced, ‘We are looking forward to working together again soon on the second Greening Award Initiative ceremony, which will be held in the next EMSA-organised Annual Coast Guard event, in Portugal in 2026!’.

The cooperation between the coast guard agencies is regulated by the tripartite working arrangement and its chairmanship is based on the rotation system. During the event, EFCA Executive Director Susan Steel passed the ‘captain's bell’ to Frontex’s Executive Director Hans Leijtens, who presented his priorities for the upcoming months:

1. Continue the collaboration, cooperation and coordination, which constitutes the foundation of working together to address efficiently maritime security challenges and to promote EU cooperation on coast guard functions.
2. Strengthen the efficient resource utilisation with transparency and accountability. Frontex will propose a common Interagency Communication Plan.
3. Recognise emerging threats and risks, promoting in this context adaptability and flexibility.

The final session was dedicated to the 2025 Tripartite Annual Strategic Plan, endorsed by the three Executive Directors to mark their consent on the future priorities. The agencies will continue their cooperation and will take care of the necessary modernisation and harmonisation to enhance cooperation. This will include delivering a glossary of abbreviations and acronyms commonly used and establishing the requirements to produce an interactive version of the Maritime Data Catalogue. The MMO implementation will remain the leading theme throughout the entire period of Frontex’s chairmanship, which also implies detailed mapping out of the agencies’ assets to obtain a complete picture of the agencies’ capacity and readiness to support the EU’s maritime regions and authorities.