On Wednesday 25 January, the European Commission issued its first report on the first three months of existence of the new European coastguard and border guard corps, calling on the member states to help with certain shortages, particularly in terms of personnel or equipment (see EUROPE 11625, 11644).
In its report, the European institution observes that the agency which replaced Frontex has already come to the assistance of the member states, with more than 1,550 members of staff deployed in various operations in Greece, Bulgaria and Italy in rescue-at-sea operations such as Triton, amongst others. 760 officers, for instance, are active in Greece, particularly on the land borders with Turkey and the islands. 600 officers are deployed in the central Mediterranean and Italy, particularly in the framework of the 'hotspot' centres, and 130 are deployed in Bulgaria. Finally, 70 officers have been deployed in other member states for other operations in connection with the migration route of the Western Balkans.
The Commission is, however, calling on the member states to ensure that all of the pledged resources are actually made available. There are currently 24 vessels and boats in use, six helicopters and aircraft, more than 80 patrol cars and 13 vehicles with thermal vision technology. The gaps identified are as follows: - provide Greece with at least one more helicopter and up to ten extra officers by the end of March; - 54 officers are required between February and March for continental Greece; - another 87 offices are still required for Bulgaria.
In its report, the European institution also reiterates the commitments made when the new agency launched in October 2016. A common vulnerability assessment methodology was adopted to assess the capacity of the member states on an annual basis to deal with problems occurring on their external borders.
In January 2017, the European border guard and coastguard agency started collecting data on the capacities of the member states in this regard, to be used as a basis and principle reference to carry out the vulnerability assessments in 2017. New reserves made up of 690 specialists in returns issues have been available since 7 January 2017 and have allowed the European agency to support the member states in organising and coordinating returns operations, and working with third countries in this area.
A revised action plan for returns will also be adopted over the next few weeks. A complaints mechanism was also set in place on 6 October to monitor and ensure the respect of fundamental rights in the framework of all activities carried out by the agency.
Finally, under its new mandate, the agency is authorised to carry out operations on the territory of neighbouring third countries, subject to a prior bilateral agreement. In November 2016, the Commission adopted a template agreement to be used as a basis for these operations and Serbia and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia were selected as priority third countries. On 25 January, the Commission asked the Council to authorise the opening of negotiations with these two countries. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)