Brussels, 05/08/2011 (Agence Europe) - The Commission has proposed to allocate €370 million to member states for action in the field of EU external border control for 2012, i.e. around €22 million more than for 2011, the European Commission announced on Friday 5 August. This envelope will be funded through the External Borders Fund (2007-2013) and, out of the €370.1 million, €321.9 will be earmarked for national programmes. The latter will therefore be around 35% up on the previous year.
All EU member states will benefit from this, as will third partner states of the Schengen Area (Norway, Iceland, Switzerland and Liechtenstein). The remaining €48.2 million will be directed to “transnational actions and actions of interest to the EU (€22.2 million), specific actions at specific border sections (€10 million) and the special transit scheme for Russian citizens travelling to Kaliningrad through Lithuania (€16 million)”., the Commission states.
Home Affairs Commissioner Cecilia Malmström said “the proposed allocation is a concrete example of EU solidarity in action and will help to enhance border security and visa management”.
According to the Commission, this increase must above all meet the needs of the states that are the “most affected by increased migratory pressures”. The southern states of Europe will therefore receive the lion's share, as immigration has this year become one of the most pressing matters at European level since the Arab Spring and NATO intervention in Libya, as symbolised by the massive influx of migrants to the Italian island of Lampedusa. Thus, the large part will be attributed to Italy, with €52.7 million (an increase of €20 million compared to 2011), to Spain (€48.1 million, which is a little less than four additional million), and to Greece (€44.7 million, a similar increase as that for Spain). However, the most significant increase concerns the allocation earmarked for Malta, which has grown fivefold in just one year (from €2.7 to 14.9 million).
The new envelope of €370 million will above all be used for “purchasing equipment, means of transport for border control, developing IT systems, refurbishing the offices for visa handling and providing training to border guards and consular staff”. Furthermore, there are five priorities established by the Commission for the year 2012 for investment at national level through the External Borders Fund. These are: - (1) continued investment at national level for the Schengen Information System II (SIS II); - (2) development at national level for the Visa Information System (VIS); - (3) the setting up of national coordination centres in the framework of the European Surveillance System (EUROSUR) project; - (4) implementation of state-of-the-art technology equipment; - and (5) the promotion of consular cooperation between member states for the issuance of visas. (J.K./transl.jl)