Brussels, 11/12/2015 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission will present its proposals on Tuesday 15 December on an integrated European border and coast guard system to strengthen surveillance of the EU's external borders. In 2015, more than 1.5 million arrived in the EU.
The most problematic area of the proposal (a copy of which has been acquired by EUROPE), announced in the speech by the president of the Commission on the state of the Union (see EUROPE 11385), is the provision granting the “right to intervene” at a section of the external border of the EU without having to await a request for assistance from the state concerned.
This new system responds to the keenness expressed by the member states in recent summits of gradually moving to an integrated system while still respecting national competence. An “agency” will be formed, bringing together the existing Frontex agency and the member states' authorities, which will continue to be in charge of monitoring their borders. While the details and the name of this “agency” remained to be firmed up on Friday 11 December, the proposal will take the form of a regulation and will make provision for this new body's being able, as a last resort, to use its right of intervention in a country that, by itself, is unable to resolve difficulties at its external borders.
According to the provisional communication, the European border and coast guard system will ensure “the effective application of strong common border management standards”, continue to provide the operational support, as is already the case, for example, with RABIT teams, and to intervene, if necessary to respond promptly to emerging crises at the external border, the Commission says. The ultimate objective is to preserve and protect the Schengen area of free movement, which cannot operate without effective control of external borders.
The Frontex agency could, with this new arrangement, see its staffing rise from 400 to 1,000 and its budget double, a European source said, though the provisional document makes no mention of figures. For this integrated system to become a reality, the text says that the member states would have, in parallel, to put in place a reserve of 1,500 troops who can be called up immediately and deployed within a few days in the event of a sudden migration crisis.
The “agency” will need to be “a centre of expertise, a practical support to national border guard authorities, and a guarantor that the system will perform effectively”, states the draft text. One of the final phases, described by the above source as the “nuclear weapon”, will be the Community-level decision to intervene at a critical section of the EU's external border if the country responsible for this length of border is unable on its own to deal with the problems. The Commission has no intention of ignoring the views of the country concerned or of taking control in place of the country concerned, the source said: the “agency” would be granted the “right to intervene” even where there is no request for assistance from the member state or where that member state considers that there is no need for additional intervention.
The first stage would be for the agency to recommend triggering operations like RABIT. However, in extreme cases, and following a prior recommendation of the proposed “agency” which has assessed the situation, the Commission could take the decision to intervene if shortcomings persist. The comitology procedure would be followed in adopting this decision and a majority of member states in favour would be required for the decision to be passed. Under the rules, the “agency” could cooperate with third countries and decide to carry out joint patrols with a third country.
Return policy. The role of the proposed “agency” would also be strengthened with regard to the return of irregular migrants in the EU. Under the new rules, the “agency” could directly initiate return operations, rather than just coordinate member states' operations. A special office would be set up within the “agency”. The Commission, the text says, also makes provision for a complaints mechanism to deal internally in the event of problems over respect for fundamental rights.
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte has informed Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker that the new regulation would be one of the priorities of the Dutch Presidency of the Council of the EU in the first half of 2016, with the aim of having it adopted by June of next year. It would come into force immediately in the member states. Commission spokesperson Margaritis Schinas said on Friday that the Commission was already expecting positive feedback from the member states at their summit next week.
Schengen border code amended to strengthen controls. As part of the overall migration package, on Tuesday, the Commission will present the targeted revision of the Schengen border code, called for by EU home affairs ministers (see EUROPE 11435). This revision will mean all travellers - including Europeans - entering or leaving the EU will have to go through systematic checks using police files, such as SIS 2, or the Interpol database of stolen documents. European governments will thus be able to toughen their efforts against foreign fighters.
The Commission will also bring forward a draft regulation creating a “European travel document”, much decried by the African countries at the Valletta summit in mid-November (see EUROPE 11429). This uniform document will make it easier to return an irregular migrant to his/her country of origin no matter where he/she is in the EU.
Also to be unveiled separately is a voluntary instrument for the resettlement in the EU of Syrian refugees already in Turkey, as announced at the EU-Turkey summit (see EUROPE 11429 and 11449). Lastly a guide to the EUROSUR system of satellite monitoring of borders will be presented. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)