01 April 2016
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Negotiations within the Council on the proposed European Border and Coast Guard, which would replace the Frontex agency, are progressing fast. Under current plans a draft text of the entire Regulation will be submitted to the Council's Permanent Representatives Committee on 6 April, "with a view to obtaining a mandate flexibe enough to open interinstitutional negotiations with the European Parliament." Other documents provided here show how the Council's position has taken shape.
Meanwhile a new European Parliament study "highlights some of the central challenges in the new EBCG [European Border and Coast Guard] framework and provides some recommendations on how these might be addressed."
The EP study notes that:
"the proposal is not a revolutionary leap forwards, as it preserves the fundamental premise that the Agency neither has its own border guards nor powers of command and control over national border guards. Still, a proposal of this complexity, with substantial financial implications and an obvious impact on fundamental rights, deserves careful consideration. The proposal does not address some key questions as regards accountability for operational activities at the external borders and is rather likely to add to the current unclear division of responsibilities."
The Parliament is likely to be under pressure from the Council to deal with negotiations quickly. Whether it will take into account the recommendation of the study that the proposal be given "careful consideration" remains to be seen.
For all the relevant background documentation and information, see SEMDOC: Regulation on a European Border and Coast Guard Agency
European Parliament study on military research: EU should get ready for war 1.4.16
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