With the member states still failing to agree on the reform of the 'Asylum' package proposed by the European Commission in May 2016, the President of the Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, on Wednesday 12 September announced new initiatives to get the member states behind the proposals on asylum, for instance by reinforcing the external borders of the EU.
The initiative on the European borders, which was announced several months ago, consists of stepping up the mandate of the European border guard and coastguard agency, Frontex, which will have personnel of 10,000 by 2020 and new prerogatives in terms of returns of persons in an irregular situation.
The Commission is returning to an old hobby-horse, stressing once again in this regulation that the agency must have its own staff and equipment, such as vessels, aircraft and vehicles.
To guarantee their full operational effectiveness, the members of the EU border guard and coastguard corps will be authorised, under the control and authority of the member state in which they are deployed, to carry out duties requiring implementation powers, such as identity checks, authorising or refusing entry on the external borders and intercepting persons on the borders, the Commission goes on to propose. It hopes to reinforce the powers of Frontex agents and move a little closer towards a Community border police force.
On returns, the agency can already, in its current form, arrange and pay for joint operations; in the future, it will be able to assist member states in the framework of returns procedures, particularly in identifying third-country nationals staying illegally, acquiring travel documents and preparing return decisions for the national authorities, which will continue to be responsible for the actual returns decisions, as announced at the end of June. The new agency will also be able to launch operations with third countries and deploy agents on the territory or waters of other third countries, subject to their agreement.
The proposal includes an idea on which much ink was spilled in 2015 and 2016, namely: a form of right of intervention. The Commission - rather than just the Council - will be able to decide if the agency may intervene in the event of an emergency, even without applying to the member state whose border management is deemed deficient. However, the operational plan for the intervention must be deployed in cooperation with the country in question.
Another regulation was proposed on Wednesday, this time aiming to amend the 2016 proposal to convert the European Asylum Support Office into an agency in its own right. Learning lessons from the experience of the last two years, the targeted changes presented today are based on the 2016 proposal and further extend the operational and technical assistance that the Agency will be able to provide to the member states, the Commission explains, including the possibility of helping them by executing the administrative phase of the procedure together.
The reinforced agency will be able to offer administrative support for all or part of the administrative procedure for international protection and the so-called Dublin process. It will also be able to offer assistance at the appeals stage.
Finally, the Commission reminded the member states that they must make progress on illegal migration, such as its proposal for a new European blue card, resettlement and cooperation with third countries. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)