On June 14, 2023, at the headquarters of the Territorial Inspectorate of the Sighetu Marmaţiei Border Police, the official opening ceremony of the CENTURION Operational Pilot Project regarding the Frontex Chain of Command took place, in the presence of Mrs. Lena DUPONT - representative of the European Parliament, vice-president of the Commission for Civil Liberties, Justice and Internal Affairs, of Mr. Lars GERDES - the deputy executive director for returns and operations of the European Border Police and Coast Guard Agency (FRONTEX) and of Mr. Inspector General of the RBP, Police Quaestor Victor- Stefan IVASCU.
The event was also attended by representatives with direct attributions in the management of operational projects from both the Frontex Agency and the Romanian Border Police, as well as heads of operational contingents regarding the Standing Corps
The purpose of the pilot project is to test the planning and implementation of the new operational models on the Frontex Chain of Command for the Standing Corps, which considers the following concepts: the New Chain of Command, including administrative management and hierarchical lines, and the two new options for the Operational Concepts for SC.
Specifically, the pilot project aims to increase the operational performance of intervention at the external borders of the European Union, by creating a DECENTRALIZED command SYSTEM for the management of personnel from the Standing Corps within the joint operations carried out under the aegis of Frontex, achieved by introducing the regional level.
Starting today, a contingent of 100 Standing Corps officers, together with Romanian border police, will test Frontex's chain of command. Hence the name of the pilot project - CENTURION - which is inspired by military history that speaks of efficiency and precision - the concept being based on hierarchical lines and teams.
The decision to select Romania as the host country for testing these new work concepts was taken based on considerations related to the new current geostrategic context - the war in Ukraine - but also on the recognition that the Romanian Border Police has the managerial and operational capacity to manage border surveillance professionally and efficiently.
The event also included an activity in the field at the Romanian-Ukrainian border, in the area of Sighetu Marmației, where demonstration exercises were held to ensure increased security at the external borders of the European Union by using the logistic equipment of the Romanian Border Police and the Agency.
In the opening, Inspector General, Police Quaestor Victor-Ştefan IVAŞCU, expressed his "full conviction that the results of this pilot project will constitute a functional model of good practice that will contribute to increasing the quality of the act of surveillance of the external borders of the European Union and represents, in fact, a new step towards a safer Europe".
Mr. Lars GERDES, Deputy Executive Director for Returns and Operations of the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (FRONTEX), said that “Member States at the external border of the European Union, such as Romania, provide security for Europe. It is our duty to support them with the highest degree of professionalism when necessary. The Standing Corps is more strongly structured in a team! Shoulder to shoulder with all the Member States and the FRONTEX Agency we are stronger in Europe, ready for action and to meet the challenges ahead."
During this period, the Frontex official made a series of working visits to the headquarters of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the General Inspectorate of the Border Police, but also to the territorial structures of the Border Police - Coast Guard, TIBP Iaşi and TIBP Sighetu Marmaţiei, which have aimed at Romania's active involvement both with regard to the activities organized by the Agency at the external borders of the European Union, and with regard to the establishment of the Agency's permanent body, in which Romania occupies the 2nd place as a human resource seconded by the member states.
In conclusion, Mrs. Lena DUPONT, representative of the European Parliament, member of the Commission for Civil Liberties, Justice and Internal Affairs, stated that "My goal here, as a member of the European Parliament, is to tell you that we see what you do, we value what you do and we want to support you in your efforts to guard the borders of the European Union. Because we have a common goal: safer borders for Europe!"
