Coastguard cooperation: EMSA takes over chairmanship of Tripartite Working Arrangement

On 26 June, our Executive Director, Maja Markovčić Kostelac, closed the 2025 edition of the Annual European Coast Guard event by accepting the traditional bell that marks the handover of the Chairmanship of the Tripartite Working Arrangement on European Coast Guard Cooperation from Frontex Executive Director, Hans Leitjens.

The Tripartite Working Arrangement is the framework for the cooperation of EMSA, the European Fisheries Control Agency, and Frontex on coast guard issues.

During her address at the historic Ziółkowski pier in Gdansk, Ms. Markovčić Kostelac thanked Mr. Leijtens and Frontex for their work during their term at the helm of the chairmanship and underlined the strength of coastguard cooperation at EU level.

During the Annual European Coast Guard event, EMSA also supported the Baltic Readiness and Coast Guard Exercise (BRACE), coordinated by Frontex and the Kashubian Border Guard Squadron of the Polish Maritime Border Guard, in the Bay of Gdańsk.

MME BRACE brought together Poland’s Border Guard, search and rescue, fisheries, and maritime security communities, along with operational experts from the EU agencies. The drill tested real-time coordination in complex scenarios involving several coast guard functions.