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EU agrees on reinforced border, coast guard system

Xinhua, June 22, 2016 Adjust font size:

The European Union (EU) agreed on Wednesday to establish a reinforced EU border agency, which will be up and running starting this summer, to ensure a strong and shared management of external borders.

According to a Commission press release, the establishment of the European Border and Coast Guard system will build on the work of the current EU border agency, Frontex.

The new system will create an agency made up of Frontex and authorities from EU member states' responsible for border management, who will continue to exercise the day-to-day management of the external borders.

According to the Commission, the limitations of Frontex have hindered its ability to effectively address and remedy the situation created by the refugee crisis. For example, it is not able to purchase its own resources, hasn't got its own operational staff, relies on member state contributions, is unable to carry out its own return or border management operations without the prior request of a member state, and it does not have an explicit mandate to conduct search and rescue operations.

"We need to strengthen Frontex significantly and develop it into a fully operational European Border and Coast Guard system," said European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker.

The hope is that with the measure to strengthen the external borders, Europe can once again "get back to the normal functioning of the Schengen area and the lifting of temporary internal border controls by the end of the year," said the commission.

Media reports said the scheme must still be endorsed by the full European Parliament, although this should be a formality.

According to the Commission, between January and November 2015, an estimated 1.5 million people crossed the EU external borders illegally, an all-time peak. Endit