On Wednesday, 27 February, European Parliament and EU Council negotiators held their first trilogue on the new mandate of the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, which is expected to ultimately have a corps of 10,000 agents. This first meeting was, above all, an opportunity to present the respective points of view, including that of the Commission with a presentation by Commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos.
However, the main points are expected to be addressed at another trilogue meeting in two weeks’ time. The first discussions focused on some technical issues, but the most difficult point is expected to concern the establishment of the permanent corps of 10,000 agents (the Parliament has created a new category of agents that the Council does not provide for in its mandate) as well as the Agency’s activities regarding returns in non-EU countries – the Council having retained the possibility for the former Frontex to carry out return operations from non-EU countries to non-EU countries, which the Parliament does not want to hear of.
However, contrary to the Commission’s position last September, both institutions agree on the gradual timetable for setting up the 10,000-strong corps, but the Council is aiming for 2027, whereas the Parliament wants to it to be implemented in 2025 with an intermediate objective of 5,000 agents (see EUROPE 12192). The Commission had proposed having these 10,000 by the end of 2020. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)