Off the wire
• Official says UAE nuclear plant meets "highest int'l standards"  • SAIC-GM to recall 2 mln vehicles over flawed engines  • Xi inspects troops in NE province  • Chinese premier extends condolences over Sri Lanka floods, landslides  • 2nd LD Writethru: DR Congo police clash with opposition supporters in Kinshasa  • China to streamline approval process to boost private investment  • French parliament definitively approves counter-terrorism law  • Lenovo suffers loss in 2015 as global PC demand shrinks  • Xi offers condolences over Sri Lanka floods, landslides  • Drought worsens human-wildlife conflict in Namibia  
You are here: 　 Home

EESC voices opposition to systematic checks on EU citizens at external borders

Xinhua, May 26, 2016 Adjust font size:

The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) here on Thursday adopted an opinion, saying that it does not support the European Commission's proposal to establish systematic checks on EU citizens at the EU external borders.

The committee, which is a consultative body of the EU, while calling for a strengthened mandate for the Frontex agency, said the proposal of setting up the checks "would dramatically affect the fundamental right to free movement".

Instead, the EESC proposed to reinforce and consolidate the Schengen rules by applying them uniformly across all Member States and by jointly (EU and Member States) managing the external borders.

According to an EESC press release, the new form of border management must go hand in hand with a transformation of the Frontex agency into a "European Border Guard", as proposed by the European Commission. This agency should have the right to intervene - upon Commission decision - in case of emergencies.

"The EESC proposes to strictly limit this intervention right to well-defined emergencies and to frame them with a duty to report and inform the European Parliament and Council of the EU," said the EESC in the press release.

The Border Guard must be akin to a civilian police force, not a military force, adds the EESC in its opinion, noting that the European Border Guard should be well trained and organized in order to fulfill its key missions.

The EESC acknowledged that improving the management of the EU's external border is no longer just an aim, it is an emergency.

The European Commission presented the border and coast guard package on Dec. 15 of 2015 to ensure strong and shared management of the EU's external borders. The package includes a regulation to establish the European border and coast guard, and a revisIon of the Schengen Borders Code to introduce mandatory systematic checks on EU citizens entering and leaving the EU. Endit