European Parliament endorses European Border and Coast Guard

The European Parliament has endorsed the European Commission’s proposal to establish a European Border and Coast Guard to reinforce the management and security of the EU’s external borders.

On December 15, 2015, the European Commission presented a legislative proposal for the creation of a European Border and Coast Guard which was agreed upon by the European Parliament, Council and Commission on June 23, 2016.

The European Parliament’s endorsement will be followed by a final vote on technical modifications resulting from a legal-linguistic revision. This will allow the council to adopt the final text of the proposal.

“We welcome the endorsement of the proposal for a European Border and Coast Guard by the European Parliament today,” a joint statement from 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 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.”