Brussels, 07/05/2002 (Agence Europe) - As announced on page 9 of yesterday's EUROPE, the European Commission has proposed integrated management of the EU's external borders on a genuine Community basis rather than as a set of national systems and also mapped out the route to the longer-term objective of setting up a European Corps of Border Guards. President Romano Prodi told reporters that the Commission has adopted preliminary guidelines on a very important issue for citizens, namely security at our common borders both at present and in an enlarged Europe. We will protect these area of security against any external threat, he added, noting that success would depend on the EU's capacity to prevent people entering the EU who did not meet the required conditions and a radical fight against human trafficking. He said the Communication met European citizens' expectations and a request from the Laeken Summit, pointing out that every Member State has exclusive responsibility for monitoring its external borders. Member States and their populations will feel better protected, he said, if they can be involved in monitoring everybody's borders. This task may be assigned to European border police, said Mr Prodi, hoping that political consensus could be found on the proposal. He concluded that the first step had been taken, they could see where they were heading, in the direction of true protection of citizens. The Justice and Home Affairs Commissioner, Antonio Vitorino, said the key word of the exercise was to create common European border guards initially and then a European College of Border Guards, meaning solidarity through sharing the financial burden (through the EC budget) and the operational burden. Mr Vitorino hoped there would be a debate with JHA ministers over the issue.
Answering reporters' questions, Mr Vitorino said that the Commission's Communication had a wider vision than the Communication Italy was preparing over the creation of a European Corps of Border Guards (to be published on 30 May) and that all the members of the European Corps of Border Guards would have public order powers, including the power of arrest. If we are more successful in combating organised crime, human trafficking and illegal immigration, said Mr Vitorino, we will get to the heart of the European plan to abolish internal borders and fight the far right more effectively.