Toespraak Franco Frattini tgv de opening van het nieuwe FRONTEX-gebouw (en)

SPEECH/07/194

Franco Frattini

European Commissioner responsible for Justice, Freedom and Security

"Frontex: an indispensable tool for the EU in addressing the common challenge of illegal immigrationâ€

Grand opening of the new premises of Frontex

Warsaw, 27 March 2007

Today I will start by paying homage to Frontex and its high-calibre staff members who, with much hard work and commitment, have achieved so much in such a short period of time.

The free movement of people in an area without internal borders is one of most tangible and appreciated benefits the Community has brought to its citizens. Safe external borders are therefore an essential precondition if we want to continue to enjoy this freedom in the future. Safeguarding the integrity and promoting the expansion of the Schengen area is crucial to the success of the EU's integrated border management. And Frontex is a vital component of this policy measure.

Frontex also embodies an idea of Europe and, soon I hope, could become the European flag flown by future European coast guards, who would have the duty to ensure a firm stance on illegal immigration, mainly via preventive measures, therewith avoiding humanitarian tragedies, in a spirit of European solidarity.

The challenges ahead continue to be very important. We cannot, unfortunately, expect the migratory pressures on the EU's southern maritime borders to diminish in the near future. On the contrary, demographic statistical data indicate that migration is set to rise as the population of the 50 least developed countries is likely to more than double, from 800 million in 2007 to 1.7 billion in 2050 (latest forecast by the UN Population Division).

We must remain vigilant and keep a lookout for any change in migratory routes towards the Union, notably any increased pressure at the eastern land borders.

In November last year, the Commission set out the short- and medium-term measures to be taken to boost the operational capacity of Frontex, designed both to make the maximum use of existing tools and to add new ones for operational cooperation at European level.

Today, Frontex encapsulates both the need to have a common European approach and the need to promote European solidarity in the field of migration.

These measures were welcomed by the European Council. And I am pleased to note that implementation is well on track. At the Justice and Home affairs Council next month, we will have in the agenda the setting up of Rapid Border Intervention Teams as well as the setting up of a coastal patrol network, in which I urge the Member States to play a full part in a spirit of solidarity, and a future European surveillance system, for which the Commission is currently analysing the options for concrete follow-up. I express my appreciation to the German presidency and particularly Minister Schaüble for their very strong commitment towards strengthening the EU's capacity of managing external borders.

Achieving effective management and control of the EU's coasts - with both human resources and technological devices - is not only important in terms of increased cooperation, it is also important in terms of the future technological developments of the management of the EU's external borders could spur. This could also be beneficial to the public and private sectors, which should consider forging future alliances.

Between the end of 2007 and 2008, the European institutions will be called upon to decide on the future directions of the EU's external border policy. The Commission will present a number of proposals and options on major new initiatives, these including:

Developing systems on entry-exit and registered travellers at the external borders, making full use of biometrics and other new technologies;

Expanding the Schengen area and revising the Schengen evaluation mechanism;

Stabilising a common European Surveillance System (EUROSUR) for all external land and maritime borders; we will present in May a communication with proposals on the eastern dimension of illegal migration.

The political discussion on these initiatives will be taken forward in parallel with that on the future of Frontex, on which the Commission will present an evaluation report towards the end of this year. This report will take stock of the experiences of Frontex so far and set the further development agenda of the Agency against the background of the future of the Union's integrated border management system as a whole.

In this report we will address not only the principles which should guide the involvement and activities of Frontex as such, but also whether the overall political mandate of the Agency needs to be extended.

In this perspective it is important to recall that Frontex is a body that has had to grow up fast. The rapid growth of this Agency could be ascribed not only to the growing emergencies brought on by migration flows from far-away countries but also to our common political commitment to making the best possible use of Frontex's available resources. To meet the challenges ahead it is crucial that Frontex gets the support it needs to keep growing: personnel, budget, and active cooperation from the Member States. I am quite satisfied with the result received so far but it is vital that we keep the momentum alive.

I am therefore all the more pleased to learn that good progress has been made towards the signature of an headquarters agreement between Frontex and the Polish government. In that context I welcome the memorandum of understanding which was signed yesterday. I would like to thank the Polish government for its cooperative and supportive spirit in hosting Frontex.

When I refer to an efficient, active and effective European Agency I always use the example of FRONTEXâ the inauguration of its new premises is a key step in stabilising the administrative capacity of the Agency. I am confident that it will contribute to ensuring ever greater efficiency in the delivery of its objectives.