EU sets six-month deadline to rule on border guard plan

President of Lithuania Dalia Grybauskaitė is attending the European Council to consider a proposal to set up a European Border and Coast Guard, which will help to ensure an effective response to the migration crisis, informed BC presidential press service.

Turkey’s role in Europe’s refugee crisis was also discussed at the meeting.

On Tuesday, the European Commission proposed a doubling the number of staff working for Frontex and create a separate reserve force-the European Border and Coast Guard agency-boosting security within the 26-nation Schengen zone, which sees citizens of member states traveling freely without passport checks. The return of many border controls has undermined the Schengen freedom of movement principle.

EU leaders will have a chance to weigh in on the proposals during a two-day summit that began in Brussels on Thursday and is meant to galvanize member states into action on some of the most pressing issues facing the 28-nation union. And this is why I welcome with great satisfaction the European Commission’s proposal of strengthening our external borders, because in fact border control is a conditio sine qua non of each and every migration policy.

Germany, the top destination for the migrants as Europe’s most dynamic economy, has led the calls for Europeans to admit people in distress and share the burden more evenly.

They discussed plans unveiled Tuesday for a new border and coastguard force which can step in if necessary without the host country’s consent. Polish Foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowski said on Monday that the plan to upgrade Frontex to “a structure that is independent of member states is astounding”.

“The Council should adopt its position on the European Border and Coast Guard under the Netherlands presidency”, according to the published conclusions. “We must all understand that our worldwide obligation regarding the Schengen treaty is to effectively contribute to the battle against terrorism”, he said.

The latest resettlement scheme recommended some days ago, would see European Union countries accept Syrian refugees directly from Turkey under a voluntary scheme, and the plan seeks to stop people making the risky sea journey to Greece.

“Implementation is insufficient and has to be speeded up”, the European Council said in a statement.

The EU leaders have agreed to relocate 160,000 refugees but only a few hundred people have been transferred by now. Refugees who do not come from Syria, Iraq or Afghanistan are already being denied this right in hot spots and on the Balkan route, on the grounds that they are supposedly economic migrants.

A report to be delivered to the summit says a €3bn ($NZD4.8bn) deal with Turkey has had little success reducing the flow of refugees and migrants to Greece.

However, the organization praised the “extraordinary generosity” of the receiving countries, singling out Turkey, which with 1.84 million refugees at the end of June is the world’s biggest hosting country.

And Merkel’s hopes that the deal struck with Turkey in October would stem the flow of people across the Aegean into Greece also appeared to be fading.