Brussels, 23/12/2008 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday 18 December 2008, the European Commission announced the adoption of twelve multi-annual implementation programmes for the External Border Fund 2007-2013. The countries concerned are: Greece (€148 million), Italy (€211 mil), Malta (€112 mil), Germany (€84 mil), Slovenia (€47 mil), the Netherlands (€35 mil), Estonia (€29 mil), Belgium (€26 mil), Austria (€15 mil), Cyprus (€22 mil), Denmark (€6 mil) and Luxembourg (€500,000). EU Immigration Commissioner Jacques Barrot said the annual programmes demonstrated Member States' desire to contribute to the implementation of a common integrated border management system. The planned investment will boost the cooperation capacity of the Member States so that they can effectively tackle the challenges raised by the control of EU borders, added Barrot. The External Border Fund 2007-2013 has a total budget of €1.82 billion. It is the biggest of the four new EU funds under the programme “Solidarity and Management of Immigration”. The other three are a fund for the integration of people from outside the EU, a return fund and a refugee fund. Some €5.866 billion has been earmarked for all four. The overall budget for the External Border Fund for 2007-2013 is sub-divided as follows: €1.543 bn is divided among the Member States in line with objective criteria to assess the burden borne by each when it comes to monitoring the EU's external borders and visa policy and activity under the national programmes; €109 mil (6 %) is managed directly by the European Commission to pay for EU action; €108 mil for the Kaliningrad transit system operated by Lithuania; and €60 mil for implementing special measures at border crossing points identified as strategic in analysis carried out by the Frontex agency. (B.C. trans fl)