Countries
balk at EU border force proposal
Poland
describes the plan to deploy guards even if nations don’t ask for
the help as ‘astounding.’
By MAÏA DE LA
BAUME 12/15/15, 6:10 PM CET
The European
Commission unveiled a controversial proposal Tuesday for a new EU
border force with the power to intervene “in urgent situations”
if it believes countries are failing to guard their external
frontiers effectively.
But the measure,
which will be a major topic of discussion at summit of EU leaders
later this week, is already drawing criticism from some countries
that see it as an encroachment on their sovereign powers.
The proposal is part
of a wide-ranging set of measures put forward by the Commission to
reinforce the EU’s external borders and protect the passport-free
Schengen area, which has been under increasing pressure as an
estimated 1.5 million migrants have crossed into the EU this year.
The November 13
attacks in Paris heightened concerns about the effectiveness of
Schengen border controls after it emerged that suspected terrorists
traveled freely between Europe and Syria beforehand.
The proposed measure
will create a new European Border and Coast Guard Agency, built from
the existing EU border agency Frontex and member states’ border
authorities.
With a pool of up to
1,500 border guards — provided by EU countries — it would be able
to intervene “even if there is no request for assistance from the
member state concerned or where that member state considers that
there is no need for additional intervention.”
Commission Vice
President Frans Timmermans, in a speech to members of the European
Parliament in Strasbourg, said the plan “should help to correct
many of the weaknesses that have hindered Frontex over the years.”
The aim of the new
measures, Timmermans said, will be to “prevent uncontrollable
situations” and “to strengthen our collective ability to deal
with crisis situations where a section of the external borders
suddenly comes under strong pressure.”
According to the
proposal, the new European Border and Coast Guard would assess
whether a country is adequately policing its external borders, and
make recommendations on “corrective measures to address the
existing gaps.” If the country fails to take measures, the
Commission would be able to adopt an “implementing decision”
enabling the agency to act on the ground, even if the country doesn’t
ask for help.
Some countries are
already voicing opposition to the idea of giving the Commission
authority to intervene in emergency situations.
Polish Foreign
Minister Witold Waszczykowski said Monday that the plan to upgrade
Frontex to “a structure that is independent of member states is
astounding. There would be an undemocratic structure reporting to
nobody knows who.”
France and Germany
have been largely supportive of the idea. Earlier this month, their
interior ministers, Bernard Cazeneuve and Thomas de Maizière, sent a
letter to the Commission saying that “in exceptional circumstances,
Frontex should also take initiative to deploy under its own
responsibility rapid intervention teams at its external borders.”
Italy is also
backing the measure. Sandro Gozi, the country’s under-secretary for
European Affairs, told reporters Tuesday that his country was in
favor of the creation of an EU border force but wouldn’t comment
further.
But other countries
heavily affected by the influx of migrants were more critical.
Greek Foreign
Affairs Minister Nikos Kotzias accused EU officials of “rushing”
the proposal.
“The problems have
to be resolved in a democratic manner, within the framework of the
treaties,” Kotzias said. “We have said that the process and
regulation for Frontex can certainly change, but any change must be
in line with articles 72 and 79 of the Treaty on the European Union,
which prioritizes each member state’s sovereign interests with
regard to defending its security and the immigration issue.”
Sweden is also among
the countries likely to reject the Commission’s proposal.
“Border control is
the competence for the member states, and it’s hard to say that
there is a need to impose that on member states forcefully,”
Interior Minister Anders Ygeman said earlier this month at a meeting
of EU interior ministers.
The minister’s
spokesperson said Tuesday the Commission’s proposal would now be
analyzed by Stockholm, but “the general skepticism towards such
plans hasn’t changed.”
Sweden has been
among the EU countries most affected by the migration crisis, and
says it can no longer accept new refugees because of the strain on
resources. The Commission on Tuesday said it had granted Stockholm a
one-year suspension from its obligations under the EU’s refugee
relocation scheme because of the sharp increase in asylum-seeker
arrivals in the country.
Members of the
European Parliament offered a mixed bag of reactions to the proposal
during a debate on Tuesday afternoon.
Austrian MEP
Angelika Mlinar said, “I’m convinced at this time that member
states have to transfer some responsibility to the EU level in order
to increase the security of citizens.”
But Swedish MEP
Malin Björk said that when she looked at the proposal, “I did get
a shiver down my back.”
Dimitris
Avramopoulos, the EU justice and home affairs commissioner, defended
the proposal, saying the new agency goes “beyond Frontex but we
don’t replace member states’ responsibilities and definitely not
their sovereignty.”
Emmet Livingstone,
Giulia Paravicini and Hans von der Burchard contributed to this
article.
This article was
updated to add details of the new agency’s name.
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