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E.U. Pushes to Take Over Border Security at Migrant Pressure Points E.U. Pushes to Take Over Border Security at Migrant Crossings
(about 7 hours later)
BRUSSELS — European Union authorities on Tuesday proposed taking control of border and coastal security at popular entry points for migrants in countries like Greece and Italy, to get a grip on a crisis that has divided the bloc and fed the rise of populist political movements. BRUSSELS — European Union authorities on Tuesday proposed taking control of border and coastal security at entry points for migrants in countries like Greece and Italy, to get a grip on a crisis that has divided the bloc and fed the rise of populist political movements.
Officials at the European Commission, the executive arm of the European Union, said the centralized approach to border security would shore up confidence that the bloc can manage the migration crisis and would save one of its flagship policies: the Schengen rules that allow the free movement of citizens across most of Europe’s internal borders. Officials at the European Commission, the executive arm of the European Union, said the centralized approach to border security would bolster confidence that the union can manage the migration crisis and would save one of its flagship policies — the Schengen rules that allow the free movement of citizens across most of Europe’s internal borders.
The proposal was expected to be discussed at a summit meeting of the national leaders of the European Union’s 28 member states in Brussels on Thursday.The proposal was expected to be discussed at a summit meeting of the national leaders of the European Union’s 28 member states in Brussels on Thursday.
Like the long effort to save the euro that began six years ago, the migration crisis is mainly focused on pushing one country, in this case Greece, to abide by European Union rules in exchange for greater support from other countries, namely Germany, that fear the repercussions of problems on the bloc’s periphery. Like the long effort to save the euro that began six years ago, the migration crisis is mainly focused on pushing one country, in this case Greece, to abide by European Union rules in exchange for greater support from other countries, namely Germany, that fear the repercussions of problems on the union’s periphery.
Rescuing Greece from a messy departure from the single currency took years of grinding negotiations, and approval for the new border system could get bogged down in similar procedures involving national governments and the European Parliament. That could turn the proposal into another example of Europe’s seeming inability to respond to crises in a coordinated fashion.Rescuing Greece from a messy departure from the single currency took years of grinding negotiations, and approval for the new border system could get bogged down in similar procedures involving national governments and the European Parliament. That could turn the proposal into another example of Europe’s seeming inability to respond to crises in a coordinated fashion.
The proposals already face opposition in countries like Poland where some politicians suspect a blunt power grab by Brussels intended to diminish national sovereignty. An initiative pushed this year by the commission to relocate tens of thousands of people from Greece and Italy to other parts of the bloc has failed to gain much traction; only around 200 people have been moved so far. The proposals already face opposition in countries like Poland where some politicians suspect a blunt power grab by Brussels intended to diminish national sovereignty. An initiative pushed this year by the commission to relocate tens of thousands of people from Greece and Italy to other European Union countries has failed to gain much traction; only around 200 people have been moved so far.
Even so, momentum has been building in France and Germany for the kind of initiative that was announced on Tuesday.Even so, momentum has been building in France and Germany for the kind of initiative that was announced on Tuesday.
Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany is under severe pressure to reduce the number of migrants clamoring for asylum in wealthy northern European countries. Reinforcing the bloc’s external borders is also a priority for France, where two of the participants in terrorist attacks in Paris last month posed as refugees to enter the European Union through Greece. Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany has come under severe pressure to reduce the number of migrants clamoring for asylum in wealthy northern European countries. Reinforcing the bloc’s external borders is also a priority for France, where two of the participants in terrorist attacks in Paris last month posed as refugees to enter the European Union through Greece.
The borders that migrants “cross are not just Greek borders or Bulgarian borders — they are European borders,” Frans Timmermans, the first vice president of the European Commission, said at a news conference in Strasbourg, France. That made such borders a “collective responsibility,” and “if we don’t protect them in the right way, the consequences will be for all Europeans,” he said.The borders that migrants “cross are not just Greek borders or Bulgarian borders — they are European borders,” Frans Timmermans, the first vice president of the European Commission, said at a news conference in Strasbourg, France. That made such borders a “collective responsibility,” and “if we don’t protect them in the right way, the consequences will be for all Europeans,” he said.
“I call particularly on Eastern European countries to show solidarity with others,” Mr. Timmermans added.“I call particularly on Eastern European countries to show solidarity with others,” Mr. Timmermans added.
Ahead of a two-day summit that begins on Thursday, Donald Tusk, the president of the European Council, the body that represents European leaders, called on national leaders to “regain control over our external borders to stem migratory flows and to preserve” free movement of citizens inside the bloc. Before the two-day meeting that begins on Thursday, Donald Tusk, the president of the European Council, the body that represents European leaders, called on national leaders to “regain control over our external borders to stem migratory flows and to preserve” free movement of citizens.
Security of the “external border has until now been too low, with only 20 percent of refugees and migrants intercepted upon reaching the shores in the Eastern Mediterranean,” Mr. Tusk wrote in a letter to leaders on Tuesday.
The commission said Tuesday that a record 1.5 million people had crossed the bloc’s external borders illegally between January and November.
The plan would double the staff of the current border agency, Frontex, and would create a separate reserve force, drawn from national authorities responsible for border management, to create a European Border and Coast Guard Agency.The plan would double the staff of the current border agency, Frontex, and would create a separate reserve force, drawn from national authorities responsible for border management, to create a European Border and Coast Guard Agency.
The new agency would have a permanent staff of 1,000 people. The most sensitive element of the proposals is a so-called rapid reserve pool of 1,500 border guards, drawn from countries in the bloc that are part of its free movement zone and who could be deployed to vulnerable areas within three days, even when a member state rejects such help.The new agency would have a permanent staff of 1,000 people. The most sensitive element of the proposals is a so-called rapid reserve pool of 1,500 border guards, drawn from countries in the bloc that are part of its free movement zone and who could be deployed to vulnerable areas within three days, even when a member state rejects such help.
The agency “will be able to step in to ensure that action is taken on the ground even where 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,” the commission said in an explanatory document.The agency “will be able to step in to ensure that action is taken on the ground even where 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,” the commission said in an explanatory document.
Whether the new agency or the national authorities would have the final say on whether the border force should be deployed is likely to be among the most delicate issues standing in the way of quick approval.Whether the new agency or the national authorities would have the final say on whether the border force should be deployed is likely to be among the most delicate issues standing in the way of quick approval.
There are also concerns about whether the new agency would be sufficiently accountable to protect the rights of migrants. There are also concerns from advocacy groups and others over whether the new agency would be sufficiently accountable to protect the rights of migrants.
“Any European proposals on border control mechanisms must not risk the same violations that have been witnessed at national level,” Iverna McGowan, the acting director of Amnesty International’s European Institutions Office, said in a statement. “Watertight safeguards and impartial accountability mechanisms will be needed against pushbacks, and use of violence or other abuses at the border.”
Underlining signs that Europe is prepared to take a harder line on its borders, the commission, in a separate report on Tuesday, called on Italy to tweak its laws “in particular to allow the use of force for fingerprinting and to include provisions on longer-term retention for those migrants that resist fingerprinting.”
The proposal announced on Tuesday contained several other initiatives, including the creation of a European Return Office made up of “escorts, monitors and return specialists” to help remove “illegally staying third country nationals” from the European Union.The proposal announced on Tuesday contained several other initiatives, including the creation of a European Return Office made up of “escorts, monitors and return specialists” to help remove “illegally staying third country nationals” from the European Union.
To bolster security, there should be “mandatory systematic checks of E.U. citizens at external land, sea and air borders,” the commission said, adding that travelers’ details would be entered into a variety of European and national databases. Under the plan, travelers would also be checked when leaving the European Union. To bolster security, there should be “mandatory systematic checks of E.U. citizens at external land, sea and air borders,” the commission said. The new checks mean “that returning foreign terrorist fighters who are European Union citizens like the ones who perpetrated the Paris attacks will no longer be able to return unnoticed,” Dimitris Avramopoulos, the European commissioner for migration, said at the news conference in Strasbourg.
The new checks mean “that returning foreign terrorist fighters who are European Union citizens like the ones who perpetrated the Paris attacks will no longer be able to return unnoticed,” Dimitris Avramopoulos, the European commissioner for migration, said at the news conference in Strasbourg.