Annexes to COM(2017)201 - Second report on the operationalisation of the European Border and Coast Guard - Main contents
Please note
This page contains a limited version of this dossier in the EU Monitor.
| dossier | COM(2017)201 - Second report on the operationalisation of the European Border and Coast Guard. |
|---|---|
| document | COM(2017)201  |
| date | March 2, 2017 |
As regards, the Agency’s operational cooperation with priority third countries, the Management Board at its meeting on 8-9 February has authorised the Executive Director to open negotiation for a working arrangement for the cooperation with Niger.
On 25 January 2017, the Commission adopted recommendations to the Council to authorise the opening of negotiations with Serbia and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia to agree on the status agreements required for the deployment of the European Border and Coast Guards teams in these countries. The Commission welcomes the fast progress in the Council and hopes for the swift adoption of the relevant decisions to start formal negotiations. The competent authorities of the third countries concerned must nonetheless complete the necessary internal procedures for negotiating the agreements with the Commission. Serbia and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia are expected to complete the necessary internal procedures in the weeks to come. The Commission is in constant contact with the authorities of these two countries, so that the formal negotiations can start whenever these two countries ready. The Commission aims at concluding the agreements with Serbia and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia as quickly as possible.
Next steps:
The Council should
• authorise swiftly the opening of negotiations with Serbia and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia on the respective status agreements
The Commission is in regular contact with Serbia and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and ready to start negotiations the moment the formal mandate is agreed
3.6. Headquarters agreement
The Commission welcomes that the Agency and Poland have finalised technical discussions and initialled the draft headquarters agreement on 23 January 2017. The draft Headquarters Agreement clarifies and establishes, among others, the legal status of the Agency, the immunities, privileges and tax exemptions accorded to the Agency, its staff and their family members, the exact scope of diplomatic status granted to certain categories of staff and the European schooling in Warsaw. It also includes provisions on the new headquarter building of the Agency in Warsaw.
The Management Board at its meeting on 8-9 February 2017 approved the draft Agreement giving the Executive Director the possibility to conclude the Agreement on behalf of the Agency. According to the Polish law, the draft agreement must be ratified by the Polish Parliament before it is finally signed.
Next steps:
Poland and the European Border and Coast Guard Agency should
• finalise the conclusion of the headquarters agreement according to the respective procedures by 7 April 2017, in this context the Polish Parliament is invited to ratify the agreement before that date.
4. EUROPEAN COOPERATION ON COAST GUARD FUNCTIONS
In order to set up a European cooperation among authorities carrying out coast guard functions 4 , the mandates of the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, the European Maritime Safety Agency and the European Fisheries Control Agency have been amended in parallel in October 2016. The three Agencies play a crucial role in providing common information, surveillance and training services to national authorities as well as in planning and carrying out multipurpose operations in the field of maritime surveillance.
At the initiative of the European Parliament, an EU pilot project has been launched in mid-2016 to develop and test these services and multipurpose operations in close cooperation with and for the benefit of the national authorities. The project will be completed in mid-2017.
The Commission cooperates closely with the three Agencies to ensure full coherence between the different policy areas.
4.1. Integrated maritime information services
The European Maritime Safety Agency provides its Integrated Maritime Services, based on ship reporting systems and other surveillance tools, to the European Border and Coast Guard Agency and the European Fisheries Control Agency for the benefit of their communities.
The European Border and Coast Guard Agency provides the services received from the European Maritime Safety Agency via the European Border Surveillance System (EUROSUR) Fusion Services support to the border and coast guards and to Joint Operations coordinated by the European Border and Coast Guard Agency. These services include detection, identification and tracking of vessels, anomaly detection, and monitoring of departure points, thereby considerably enhancing the maritime situational awareness and reaction capability of border and coast guards.
The services provided by the European Maritime Safety Agency to the European Fisheries Control Agency facilitate the detection of “Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated fishing”. As of 19 January 2017, an important missing data set, namely data on fishing vessels 5 is being provided by the European Fisheries Control Agency via the European Maritime Safety Agency to the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, and from there to border and coast guards.
The European Maritime Safety Agency is also providing selected parts of its Integrated Maritime Services to a number of users outside of the European Union, as part of support programmes (including training and capacity building activities) to third countries in the Mediterranean Sea, Black Sea and Caspian Sea, for the purpose of locating illegal discharges at sea and the polluters.
4.2. Joint maritime surveillance services
1. Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS)
An important missing tool for maritime surveillance is the use of Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems, filling the operational gap between satellite imagery and maritime patrol aircraft. For this reason the Council and European Parliament have reserved M€ 67 for 2017-2020 for establishing a joint Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems service for maritime surveillance by the European Maritime Safety Agency, together with the European Border and Coast Guard Agency and the European Fisheries Control Agency. In 2016 tendering specifications have been elaborated jointly by the three Agencies, and the framework contract signed in February 2017, covering both long endurance and vertical take-off/landing Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems. Following a preparatory phase of three months, including technical acceptance tests, this joint Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems service will be operational as of June 2017, with flight authorisations to be given by the civil aviation authorities.
To promote the use by national authorities, a demonstration of the Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems service will be held in May 2017 in the Western Mediterranean Sea, showing its added value for border control, search and rescue, fisheries control and marine pollution monitoring.
To address the specificities of the Eastern Mediterranean Sea, the European Border and Coast Guard Agency is planning to test the use of long endurance Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems in that region later in 2017, thereby contributing to the further development of the joint Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems service of the three Agencies.
2. Fixed wing aircraft service
The European Border and Coast Guard Agency has currently three framework contracts for multipurpose surveillance flights. The European Border and Coast Guard Agency has set up a web portal, which gives direct access to operators in the three Agencies and Member States, e.g. for real time video streaming and reporting. A new framework contract for aerial surveillance will be signed in the fourth quarter of 2017.
4.3. Capacity building and multipurpose operations
The European Fisheries Control Agency is currently developing, together with the European Border and Coast Guard Agency and the European Maritime Safety Agency, guidelines on interagency cooperation in the field of maritime surveillance.
All the previous elements described above serve one operational goal, namely to make best use of existing information, services and capabilities in multipurpose operations which are carried out by the Agencies in the Mediterranean Sea together with and for the benefit of national authorities.
Next steps:
All the Member States’ authorities carrying out coast guard functions should
• Use the services provided by the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, the European Maritime Safety Agency and the European Fisheries Control Agency under the EU cooperation on coast guard functions.
The European Maritime Safety Agency should
• Make the Joint Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems Services operational by end May 2017.
The European Border and Coast Guard Agency and the European Fisheries Control Agency should
• Make full use of the Joint Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems Services, as a matter of priority, in the Central Mediterranean Sea as of June 2017.
The three Agencies should
• Explore on a pilot basis how the information and services provided under the EU cooperation on coast guard functions could also be used for the benefit neighbouring third countries, in particular in the Mediterranean Sea.
5. CONCLUSIONS
The second report shows that all stakeholders have continued to work intensively to roll out the activities and tools of the European Border and Coast Guard Regulation to ensure a reinforced capability to protect the external borders is in place as soon as possible.
In particular, most of the Member States have provided the necessary data for the purpose of the vulnerability assessment which is an important step to achieve an effective preventive approach. Equally, the fast progress in the Council in view of the expected swift adoption of the decisions by the Council authorising the Commission to start the formal negotiations with Serbia and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia on the status agreements shows the continued political priority given to operationalising the European Border and Coast Guard.
However, further steps should be taken by the Member States to urgently ensure the full operational capability of the rapid reaction pools, in particular to fill the gaps for the Rapid Reaction Equipment Pool, as well as to continue joint efforts in supporting the frontline Member States in the effective management of the external borders with the requested deployments for the on-going joint operations. Member States need also to exploit the potential offered by the reinforced Agency to assist in the area of return operations by notifying their indicative planning on return operations.
The Commission invites the Council to discuss progress on the basis of this report and endorse the proposed concrete steps to bring forward the operationalisation of the European Border and Coast Guard.
The Commission will report again on the progress made to reinforce the external borders in Spring 2017.
(1)
The European Border and Coast Guard Agency provides operational support to the frontline Member States through joint operations planned in the preceding year and taking into account risk analysis. The contributions are provided by Member States and the deployments are agreed in advance during the so called Annual Bilateral Talks between the Agency and the Member States. The latest contributions were set in December 2016 to cover the foreseen operational needs of the Agency in 2017.
(2)
(COM(2017) 204 final).
(3)
COM(2017) 200
(4)
Coast guard functions may include maritime safety and security, search and rescue, border control, fisheries control, customs control, general law enforcement and environmental protection.
(5)
Vessel Monitoring System (VMS).