The borders of the European Union
The European Union has launched a new mechanism to handle the security of its external borders.
Leyla Cheamil, 07.10.2016, 13:37
The mechanism for protecting EU borders is bound to be more efficient, after the new European Border and Coast Guard was inaugurated on Thursday on the Bulgarian-Turkish border. The new European agency is aimed at putting a cap on migration flows into Europe, after last year migratory arrivals in Italy, Bulgaria and Greece were left unchecked and generated a crisis. Attending the opening ceremony, EU Commissioner for Migration and Home Affairs Dmitris Avramopoulos said the new European agency is the result of an unprecedented show of determination and unity on behalf of European states, given that the external border of any member state is the border of all member states. “The door is open for the ones who are eligible for international protection. And closed to the ones who want to cross our borders illegally, the EU official went on to say.
In turn, Bulgarian Prime Minister Boiko Borisov said Turkey should remain the EUs strategic partner, as no border police can face the millions of potential migrants in this country. Set up based on the blocs current FRONTEX agency, the new mechanism will comprise 1,000 staff by 2020 and a budget of 320 million euros. The European Border and Coast Guard will also benefit from significant technical resources and will be able to count on a reserve pool of 1,500 border guards and public servants to be deployed on short notice. As regards Romanias contribution, Interior Minister Dragos Tudorache said our country is currently among the top three contributors to FRONTEX and will be able to dispatch some 75 border police officers to the European Border and Coast Guard Agency by the end of the year.
“At present we have 400 border police guards taking part in 14 FRONTEX joint operations, four maritime patrol units, ten crews and a minivan , so quite a substantial contribution. This is why we rank among the agencys top three contributors. We will continue to maintain our activity and show our solidarity with the other member states. Under the agencys new legal framework, we are bound to provide additional staff, something we will be ready to do by the end of the year. So we will fulfill all our obligations under the new mechanism.
Also worth mentioning is that the entire staff securing the Bulgarian-Serbian borders consists of Romanian officers. Three Romanian night surveillance and K9 units are also deployed on the Bulgarian-Turkish border.
(Translated by V. Palcu)
