European Border and Coast Guard provisional deal reached

The creation of an EU border control system has taken a step forward after receiving a green light from European Parliament and European Council negotiators.

The deal would see an upgrade to the Frontex border agency, which, together with national border management authorities, will form a European Border and Coast Guard.

If approved, the regulation would enable extra border guard teams (European Border and Coast Guard or EBCG) to be rapidly deployed to EU countries whose external borders are under pressure. National authorities would still manage their borders day to day, but could seek help from the new agency in a crisis.

“A chain is only as strong as its weakest link, so we introduced the concept that the security of EU external borders is a responsibility shared among all EU member states”, said European Parliament’s lead negotiator on the regulation, Artis Pabriks.

“There will be an obligatory pool of 1,500 border guards and a pool of technical equipment available for the agency to deploy at any time.”

“The European Border and Coast Guard Regulation will ensure that the EU external borders are safer and better managed. This is not a silver bullet that can solve the migration crisis that the EU is facing today or fully restore trust in the Schengen area, but it is very much needed first step”, he added.

The informal agreement will be put to a confirmation vote in the Civil Liberties Committee before being put to a vote by parliament as a whole during the July Strasbourg plenary session.