Brussels, 23/06/2016 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday 21 June, the Council of the EU and the European Parliament reached an agreement on the outlines and competences of the future European border guard and coastguard agency (see EUROPE 11578).
Based on the experience of the existing agency Frontex, the new agency will have reinforced resources by means of a permanent reserve of 1500 border guards and may carry out vulnerability assessments on the ability of member states to manage the external borders of the European Union.
Under the inter-institutional compromise agreed upon, the results of these vulnerability studies will be sent to the Council and Parliament every six months at least. This assessment mechanism may prompt the Council to take an intervention decision for the future agency at a specific point on the external borders of the EU. There are several different scenarios: in a situation of migratory pressure, member states will be able to ask the agency for assistance and an operational plan will be drawn up jointly. The decision will then consist of sending rapid intervention teams and then border guard and/or coastguard teams.
In one of the most sensitive issues, the text approve provides that the agency will also be able to decide to intervene if a member state is not taking the corrective measures deemed necessary to stem a mass influx of migrants. In such cases, the future agency would, for it and with it, identify the measures necessary to remedy the problems observed on its borders, such as sending a rapid intervention or border guard team.
'Quarantine' instead of intervention against the will of a state. Essentially, this intervention decision may be taken by qualified majority of member states without any need for the consent of the state in question. However, from an operational point of view, it would not be possible to dispatch agency teams to a country opposing this, out of respect for the principle of sovereignty. The member states have therefore come up with an alternative: if a member state refuses to cooperate, the other member countries of the Schengen zone of the free movement of persons may decide, on the basis of a proposed recommendation of the Commission, temporarily to bring back controls on the internal borders. The negotiators thereby established a link to article 29 of the Schengen Border Code authorising controls for up to two years (see EUROPE 11546).
This alternative amends the Commission's initial proposal, which laid down an almost unilateral right to intervene on the territory of a state facing strong migratory pressure (see EUROPE 11454). On the day on which this proposal was presented, in December 2015, the First Vice-President of the Commission, Frans Timmermans, also explained that the sovereignty of the member states would be respected and that no 'forced' intervention would therefore be able to take place.
The future agency will have a permanent reserve of 1500 bodyguards, to be financed by the European budget. Every year, the member states must indicate their contribution to this reserve.
Regarding returns missions, the EP negotiators succeeded in watering down the Commission's initial proposal, so that no returns 'office' is now included in it. The new agency will go no further than to help the member states to organise their operations to return illegal migrants to their country of origin, but will no longer be able to get involved in returns operations from third countries to other third countries, a provision defended by the Council.
The new Agency is to be up and running by the autumn. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)