...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing...says it has struck a deal with Macedonia to allow border guards to be deployed if the non-EU Balkan state faces "sudden migratory challenges".
The announcement came on Wednesday as Dimitris Avramopoulos, the EU migration commissioner, and Macedonian Interior Minister Oliver Spasovski initialled the deal for sending guards from the bloc to landlocked Macedonia and conducting joint operations.
The deal will be signed formally at a later date once it clears legal hurdles and is endorsed by the European Parliament, said the Commission, the EU's executive arm.
Once the agreement enters into force, the European Border and Coast Guard Agency will be able to carry out operational activities and deploy teams in the regions of Macedonia that border the EU.
"This agreement will allow the European Border and Coast Guard Agency to fully exercise its potential, reacting swiftly to migratory challenges and protecting our common borders," Avramopoulos said in a statement.