EU ministers meet in Rome to discuss Border Police
EU ministers of home affairs are set to endorse on Thursday in Rome a crucial proposal to set up an European Corps of Border Guards, despite expected resistance from some member states who believe that patrolling the borders belongs to the core national sovereignty. The 15 ministers will discuss a study made by the Italian governments, with experts from other EU countries on political and economic implications of setting up a European border control. They are expected to declare their objective of creating a European border police and to indicate the direction to go.
Laeken summit tasked Italy to prepare study
The heads of state of the EU countries tasked the Italian government to study the feasibility of setting up a European Border police, at their meeting in Laeken, in December 2001. The study is part of a larger plan of the European Commission to introduce joint management of the EU’s external borders, to include financial and operational border sharing. The ministers’ meeting in Rome will be the first test for the Commission’s proposal. The EU executive proposed on May 7th a three steps strategy to secure external borders after the Union’s enlargement.
Commission plan in three steps
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As a first step towards the creation of a European border police, the Commission will table a series of laws on how the borders should be controlled, good practices, and how this control will be jointly financed. A common manual over how the EU’s external borders are being controlled will be produced. European Commissioner in charge of justice and home affairs Antonio Vitorino hopes this task will be completed within one year.
European Corps of Border police
The second phase entails operational consultations and cooperation between national border police. A unit of external borders practitioners will carry out common risk analysis and encourage convergence. In parallel, a permanent process of data and information exchange will be boosted.
Thirdly, a European Corps of Border police will be set up, financed partly trough the EU budget. Also, the European border guards will be trained in a special college.
Sharing the burden
The Commission pointed out that the first function of the European Border police would be the "common surveillance of the most sensitive places on external borders by multinational teams." Commissioner Vitorino believes a joint management of the external borders makes sense, since with the abolition of internal borders, countries like Luxembourg have no responsibility at all, while Finland or Greece, with long external borders, hold responsibility for securing the Union’s borders. Therefore, a financial and operational burden sharing among the EU countries is necessary.
Joint responsibility
Mr Vitorino believes the advantage of a joint borders management is double folded. On one hand, countries with no external borders will feel more confident and also more responsible for the EU’s internal security, if they participate to securing the borders. "They won’t blame countries with external borders for letting illegal immigrants in, when they are also being associated to border controls," a Commission official told EUobserver. "They will also feel more confident knowing their police patrols the borders," he added.
Candidates also attend Rome meeting
The ministers are not expected to take any formal decision at their Rome meeting. However, a political statement calling for a European Border police and indicating the way forward will be a revolution in the matter, the Commission official commented. Ministers of the 13 candidate countries will also attend the meeting in Rome.
First test on Commission plan
The proposals come at a moment when far right parties build their success with calls for closing off borders and plead for leaving internal security in government’s hands. Also; populist parties claim enlargement will entail more porous borders, more illegal immigration and organised crime. However, the Commission argues that secure external borders will lead to more internal security. "Even these are extremely delicate questions that go directly to national sovereignty, I remain optimistic, as I am aware that all the member states realise that the European solutions are the only solutions to these transnational questions," Commission Vitorino said when he launched his proposal on joint borders management. On Thursday, Mr Vitorino is set to see his proposals passing the first test, to secure political agreement, before the plans are to be negotiated in detail by the EU ministers.