The European Parliament has approved the European Commission’s proposal to establish a European Border and Coast Guard border control system.
The establishment of a European Border and Coast Guard, is part of the measures under the European Agenda on Migration to reinforce the management and security of the EU’s external borders.
In June 2016, the European Parliament, Council and Commission reached an agreement on the Commission’s proposal on a European Border and Coast Guard, which was endorsed by the Council on 23 June 2016.
First Vice-President Frans Timmermans and Commissioner for Migration, Home Affairs and Citizenship, Dimitris Avramopoulos, said:
“If we want to manage migration better and preserve our Schengen area of free movement, we need to strengthen the common management of the EU’s external borders. Today’s decision by the Parliament is a major step forward in that direction.”
“The European Border and Coast Guard will ensure a truly collective European management of our borders, based on the principle that security of our common EU external borders is a responsibility shared amongst all EU countries. There should no longer be shortages of staff or equipment for operations at our external borders. The external border of one Member State is the external border of all Member States. The new Agency will support, monitor and, when necessary, reinforce the national border guards, focusing primarily on early detection and prevention of weaknesses in the management of the external borders.” he added
” Whilst Member States will keep their sovereignty and national border guards will remain the key actors for managing their borders, the European Border and Coast Guard will work as a safety net: In exceptional situations, when a Member State is unable to cope with the situation on its own, the European Border and Coast Guard will be able to step in, drawing on a pool of resources provided by the Member States. The formal steps necessary to finalise the adoption now need to be taken swiftly by the European Parliament and the Council. It is important that the European Border and Coast Guard can start delivering as soon as possible.” Timmermans and Avramopoulos concluded
Source : EU Commission
