The center was officially opened with a ceremony at the Estonian Academy of Security Sciences in Tallinn and it will lead operations across eight countries: Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Slovakia and Sweden.

A press release said it will support national authorities in addressing challenges such as irregular migration and cross-border crime, while also improving cooperation across the region.

The new office will serve as the command center for Contingent 7, one of Frontex's permanent field teams made up of officers from the Standing Corps, the EU's uniformed border force. 

The agency called it a "major step forward" in how the EU manages its borders in Northern and Eastern Europe and will make it "more responsive and flexible," a press release said.

"With these new bases in Estonia, we are not just closer to the border. We are closer to the reality on the ground, ready to support our national partners and respond quickly to challenges as they arise" said Lars Gerdes, Frontex deputy executive director for operations.

Egert Belitšev, director general of the Police and Border Guard Board (PPA), said the new regional command center helps all the joining member states fulfill the mission of a safer Europe.

"When we guard this border, we protect democracy, freedom, and the future of Europe," he said.  

In an op-ed for Estonia's daily newspaper Postimees, Joosep Kaasik, deputy secretary general for internal security at the Ministry of Interior, made a similar statement.

He said that from the country's border in Narva-Jõesuu, the agency will lead the guarding and defense of the free world's external border. 

"The Frontex flag on the bank of the Narva River is a message to our neighbor: the EU shares a unified understanding of where threats to our internal security come from. It also shows that Estonia has been a good partner to its allies, who trust us," he wrote.

The official said it will allow Estonians and their allies to have a better understanding of each others' concerns and increase international cooperation.

"I recall a colleague's vivid expression: the Frontex North and East Europe coordination center in Narva-Jõesuu means that Estonia is now cooking the meal in the restaurant kitchen, whereas until now, we were guests in the dining hall," Kaasik said.

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