Video: https://youtu.be/RjQaAT4W_ac
Honourable Members of Parliament,
Reaching a political agreement on the European Border and Coast Guard is a tangible success of effective cooperation between the European Institutions.
This is significant for such a complex proposal and I would like to thank as well the rapporteur and the shadows-team, and the Dutch Presidency.
Moreover, this legislation has a symbolic and legal dimension: we recognise in practice that our European external borders are common European borders, for which we all share the responsibility.
This very concretely shows what the strength can be of the European Union when we are facing a common challenge.
We have achieved a balanced agreement accommodating the concerns of both co-legislators.
Still, it remained ambitious and ensured the creation of an Agency with the task and the means to make a difference not only during the current crisis but also in the long term, by preventing future-ones.
We provide our Agency with a strengthened legal basis and enhanced resources to perform more effectively, particularly when the overall functioning of the Schengen area is at risk.
For example, the new Regulation establishes a rapid reaction pool of border guards and other relevant staff as well as a rapid reaction equipment pool to be made available to the Agency whenever needed for rapid border interventions.
We won’t have to face again what is one of the main weaknesses of the current system, where Frontex has to rely on the voluntary, and often insufficient, pledges by the Member States.
In parallel, we put in place a series of strong preventive measures.
The Agency will closely monitor the management of the external borders, notably by deploying Liaison Officers that will facilitate the cooperation between Member States.
Mandatory vulnerability assessments will evaluate the capacities of the Member States to face challenges at their external borders, including the capacity to handle the massive arrival of migrants.
The new regulation will also allow the EU and the Agency to act where a Member States is insufficiently managing its external borders, and thereby jeopardising the overall functioning of the entire Schengen area.
The role of the Agency with regard to return is also strengthened without watering down the provisions of the Return Directive, as regards the return decisions and its safeguards.
The Agency will be able to underpin our efforts to improve returns by making the logistical and operational side more effective.
For our European Asylum System to properly function we need to encourage third country nationals to only use legal ways to come to Europe.
These elements are comprehensively addressed in other Commission proposals currently on the table.
To balance the expanded mandate of the Agency, we included stronger mechanisms guaranteeing the respect of fundamental rights.
We took into account the views of the European Parliament in developing a complaint mechanism in our proposal and your amendments strengthened it even more.
This will help to deal with possible violations of fundamental rights in the course of the operational activities led by the Agency.
I also emphasize that search and rescue, although a national competence, is recognised as a specific component of the European Integrated Border Management.
It is an explicit task of the Agency during its operational activities.
There is one point on which the Commission has some concerns, namely, on the appointment of the Executive Director, which deviates from the Common Approach on EU agencies agreed by the three institutions.
The Commission submitted a declaration in this regard.
I look forward to hearing your views on our common achievement.
More importantly, I invite you, dear colleagues, to confirm tomorrow the political agreement on this major important file.
Last week, the European Council was very clear on the need for swift formal adoption of the new Regulation.
What is the immediate next challenge that we are now facing: to prepare the implementation of the strengthened mandate in order to make the European Border and Coast Guard operational as soon as possible after its formal adoption -as also requested by last week’s European Council.
Making the new rules work without unnecessary delay is an indispensable element to better manage migration and to bring Schengen back to normal, as foreseen in our Roadmap “Back to Schengen”.
We have no time to lose.
This is a unique moment to turn this success story into reality.
To show that we can act together united as one Europe.
This will be a strong message to our citizens that are demanding one thing: results and effective cooperation.