Nieuw EU-agentschap voor buitengrenzen gehuisvest in Warschau (en)

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - Poland has won its bid to host the new EU agency for external borders.

The decision was taken at a meeting of justice and home affairs ministers in Luxembourg on Thursday (April 14).

Poland and Hungary have been the frontrunners for the new border unit, but Estonia, Slovenia and Malta had also thrown their hats into the ring.

"The talks were extremely long and complicated," Slovak Interior Minister Vladimir Palko told EUobserver.

"But in the final round, Poland received the biggest support as the country with the longest eastern border and therefore also the strongest immigration pressures of the new member states," he added.

The agency is scheduled to start work in May this year with an initial budget of around 6 million euro.

The European Commission has proposed 281 million euro to cover its activities between 2007 and 2013.

The ministers agreed that the agency could later set up an additional office in Malta.

Good compromise

The new body is aimed at helping member states manage their own border issues and to implement EU customs and immigration laws.

In the future, it could also act as a hub for training staff and coordinating the work of national border control authorities.

Security experts say the agency is a step forward for the EU, as it could eventually lead to the creation of a single border guard unit.

But several member states would oppose such a line of development.

"In practical terms, it will mainly be up to the member states to facilitate day-to-day co-operation, so as to boost the EU's security," said Sergio Carrera, from the Center for European Policy Studies.

"However, the agency could help them tackle specific problems, originating from different traditions, backgrounds or languages. It is not easy to protect our common borders if there are so many differences in the way we are doing it," he added.

Slovak Interior Minister Vladimir Palko considers the agency a "good compromise, as opposed to more radical ideas of pan-European border police forces, which we did not accept in the past."

But Statewatch, an NGO monitoring EU civil liberties, voiced concerns about any potential extensions of the agency's powers if its experts got involved in crisis management, such as the interception or rescue of illegal immigrants at sea.

Who will pay for external borders?

Meanwhile, Germany has rebuffed the Commission's plans to boost EU funds for the management of its external borders.

Otto Schilly, the German Interior Minister, said on Thursday that the cost of border control should be met by those states with external borders only and not by the whole bloc.

"It must remain so that national tasks are paid for nationally," he said, adding, "It cannot be the case that you are happy to accept all the advantages and financial benefits of joining the EU, but when you have expenses you want them covered at an EU level."

Brussels had previously suggested that the "old" member states should show solidarity with the newcomers from eastern and central Europe and share the costs of policing the 4000 km long eastern frontier.

The Commission projected 2.1 billion euro to be spent on boosting border control under its 2007-2013 EU budget plan.

The EU has already put aside some money for the job but the funding debate is set to rumble on, according to the Slovak Interior Minister Vladimir Palko.

"The countries with a huge part of the external border would obviously find the additional EU funds handy," he said.

"But if - as suggested by Minister Schilly - they are left alone to pay for securing their borders, then they would retain more of their independence. Those who get paid need to obey, naturally."

Poland alone has a 1,200 km long border with Russia, Belarus and Ukraine.

Security experts have warned that the EU should increase eastern border checks to prevent growth in illegal immigration and organised crime.