EU seeks to improve management of national borders

The European Union (EU) Parliament’s Civil Liberties Committee recently approved proposals concerning border security, migration and cooperation with other countries.

More than one million migrants arrived in the EU by sea in 2015, according to the United Nations refugee agency UNHCR. This year, approximately 200,000 migrants have arrived by sea, with more than 2,500 reported dead or missing.

One issue the committee is discussing is how to protect its external borders, including creating a new agency called the European Border Coast Guard. The new agency would unite Frontex, an existing EU border agency, with national authorities responsible for border management and managing the day-to-day responsibilities of external borders.

“The EU needs safer, better managed external borders and thus the European Border and Coast Guard as soon as possible,” Latvian European Parliament Member Artis Pabriks said. “The European Border and Coast Guard is not a silver bullet that can solve the migration crisis that the EU is facing today or restore the Schengen area. Yet it is the first step.”

Additional proposals being considered by the committee include returning migrants who have not been granted asylum to their home countries and introducing a standard EU travel document for migrants who do not fit the necessary qualifications for entry, stay or residence in the EU.

Additional talks on the matter are schedule for a session in Strasbourg this week.