Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions - Examining the creation of a European border surveillance system (EUROSUR) {SEC(2008) 151} {SEC(2008) 152}
Date: 2008-02-13
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: border control, cross-border cooperation, external border of the EU, information system, migration policy, shipping policy, transmission network

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 13.2.2008 
COM(2008) 68 final 

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN 
PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL 
COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS 

Examining the creation of a European Border Surveillance System (EUROSUR) 

{SEC(2008) 151} 
{SEC(2008) 152} 

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1. 

INTRODUCTION 

In its Communication of 30 November 2006 on Reinforcing the Management of the 
EU’s  Southern  Maritime  Borders1, 
to  establish 
a permanent Coastal Patrol Network for the southern maritime external borders and 
to create a European Surveillance System for Borders.  

the  Commission  proposed 

The European Council of 14/15 December 2006 stated that “priority will be given to 
examining the creation of a European Surveillance System for the southern maritime 
borders".  

Further to the works done for the setting up of the European Patrols Network (EPN) 
based on the MEDSEA study2 and the results of the BORTEC feasibility study3, the 
objective  of  this  Communication  is  to  examine  the  parameters  within  which  a 
European  Border  Surveillance  System  (EUROSUR),  focussing  initially  on  the 
southern and eastern external borders of the EU, could be developed and to suggest 
to Member States a roadmap for the setting up of such a system.  

The  aspects  of  this  Communication  dealing  with  surveillance  of  maritime  external 
borders form part of the overall framework set by the Integrated Maritime Policy for 
the European Union4. 

As defined in the Schengen Borders Code5, border control consists of checks carried 
out  at  border  crossing  points  (border  checks)  and  surveillance  of  borders  between 
border  crossing  points  (border  surveillance).  This  Communication  focuses  on 
enhancing  border  surveillance,  with  the  main  purpose  of  preventing  unauthorised 
border crossings,  to counter  cross-border  criminality and to support measures to be 
taken against persons who have crossed the border illegally.  

It  should  be  seen  in  the  context  of  the  Schengen  four-tier  access  control  model6, 
which  includes  cooperation  with  third  countries,  and  contribute  to  improving 
coordination  of  EU  policies  on  border  control  with  other  policies  such  as  research 
and development, fisheries and transport. 

Once  implemented,  EUROSUR  would  constitute  a  decisive  step  in  the  further 
gradual establishment of a common European integrated border management system. 
When  implementing  the  different  measures  described  in  this  Communication,  the 

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6 

COM(2006) 733. 
MEDSEA  Feasibility  study  of  14  July  2006  on  Mediterranean  Coastal  Patrols  Network;  prepared  by 
FRONTEX. 
Study  on  technical  feasibility  of  establishing  a  surveillance  system  (European  Surveillance  System), 
Warsaw,  presented  by  FRONTEX  on  12  January  2007.  Compare  also  the  "Feasibility  study  on  the 
control of the European Union's maritime borders" presented by CIVIPOL on 4 July 2003. 
COM(2007) 575, 10.10.2007. 
Articles 2 and 12 of Regulation (EC) No 562/2006 (OJ L 105, 13.4.2006, p. 1). 
The  Schengen  access  control  model  consists  of  the  following  four  tiers:  Measures  at  consulates, 
cooperation  with  neighbouring  countries,  border  control,  and  control  measures  within  the  Schengen 
area, including return.  

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External  Borders  Fund7  should  be  the  main  solidarity  mechanism  for  the  Member 
States in sharing the financial burden in the European Union. 

2. 

CHALLENGES  AND  OBJECTIVES  FOR  THE  FURTHER  DEVELOPMENT  OF  BORDER 
SURVEILLANCE 

2.1. 

Challenges  

2.1.1.  Current surveillance infrastructure and coordination at national level 

For  the  time  being,  national  border  surveillance  systems  are  covering  only  a  few, 
selected parts of the EU external borders. The BORTEC study has shown that in the 
eight Member States with external borders in the Mediterranean Sea and the southern 
part of the Atlantic Ocean, about 50 authorities from 30 institutions are involved in 
border surveillance, sometimes with parallel competencies and systems.  

2.1.2.  Current coverage of surveillance tools 

Due to technical (current performance of radar/optical sensors, limited availability of 
satellites)  and  financial  limitations,  the  areas  covered  by  surveillance  are  currently 
restricted to certain flat or coastal areas and those areas of the land border or open sea 
in which operations are carried out. 

2.1.3.  Cooperation with third countries 

The  migration  pressure  presents  considerable  challenges  not  only  for  the  Member 
States on the northern, but also for the third countries located on the southern shores 
of the Mediterranean Sea in terms of detection, apprehension, reception and further 
processing and readmission of migrants.  

2.2. 

Objectives 

2.2.1.  Reduction  of  the  number  of  illegal  immigrants  who  manage  to  enter  the  EU 

undetected 

The  authorities  responsible  for  border  control  in  the  Member  States  need  to  be 
provided with more timely and reliable information if they are to detect, identify and 
intercept those attempting to enter the EU illegally, thereby reducing the number of 
illegal immigrants who manage to cross the external borders of the EU undetected.  

2.2.2. 

Increase internal security of the EU as a whole by contributing to the prevention of 
cross-border crime 

Border  surveillance  has  not  only  the  purpose  to  prevent  unauthorised  border 
crossings, but also to counter cross-border crime such as the prevention of terrorism, 
trafficking in human beings, drug smuggling, illicit arms trafficking etc.  

7 

Decision No 574/2007/EC of 23 May 2007 (OJ L 144, 6.6.2007, p. 22). 

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Significant financial means, notably flowing from involvement in different kinds of 
illegal  activities,  and  the  affordability  of  new  technical  means  provide  groups 
involved in organised crime with a wide range of possibilities and equipment.  

To  counter  these  threats  is  first  and  foremost  a  task  for  the  police  forces  and 
intelligence  services  of  Member  States.  However,  an  effective  border  management 
system both at national and European level will provide a valuable tool for fighting 
cross-border crime. 

2.2.3.  Enhancing search and rescue capacity 

Many  illegal  immigrants  and  persons  in  need  of  international  protection  are 
travelling  in  conditions  of  extreme  hardship  and  are  taking  great  personal  risks  in 
their attempts to enter the EU illegally by hiding in vehicles, on cargo vessels, etc. 
The  recent  practice  of  travelling  on  board  of  unseaworthy  and  overcrowded  boats, 
has multiplied the number of unfortunate migrants who continue to lose their lives by 
drowning  in  the  Atlantic  Ocean  between  Africa  and  the  Canary  Islands  and  in  the 
Mediterranean Sea.  

The tragic death toll resulting from this kind of illegal immigration is unacceptable 
and must therefore be significantly reduced. The capacity to detect small boats in the 
open sea must be enhanced, contributing to greater chances of search and rescue and 
thereby  saving  more  lives  at  sea.  However,  long-term  solutions  to  the  challenges 
posed  by  migration  management  can  only  be  achieved  through  a  comprehensive 
strategy that includes cooperation with third countries, also on border surveillance. 

3. 

GENERAL CONCEPT 

In  order  to  meet  the  objectives  identified  in  the  previous  section  it  is  necessary  to 
envisage a common technical framework to support Member States' authorities to act 
efficiently at local level, command at national level, coordinate at European level and 
cooperate with third countries in order to detect, identify, track and intercept persons 
attempting to enter the EU illegally outside border crossing points.  

A European Border Surveillance System – EUROSUR - should support the Member 
States  in  reaching  full  situational  awareness8  on  the  situation  at  their  external 
borders and increase the reaction capability9 of their law enforcement authorities. 

Such  a  framework  would  be  set  up  without  affecting  the  respective  areas  of 
jurisdiction  of  Member  States  nor  replace  any  existing  systems.  A  key  operational 
objective  should  be  to  use  information  collected  by  different  systems  in  a  more 
coherent  manner,  while  paying  attention  to  geographical  circumstances  and 
differences  between  types  of  borders,  in  particular  between  land  and  maritime 
borders. 

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9 

Situational  awareness  measures  how  the  authorities  are  capable  of  detecting  cross-border  movements 
and finding reasoned grounds for control measures. 
The reaction capability measures the lapse of time required to reach any cross-border movement to be 
controlled and also the time and the means to react adequately to unusual circumstances. 

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The implementation of EUROSUR should be divided into three phases, of which the 
first two phases would be carried out in parallel, whereas the third phase would be 
built upon the two previous ones. 

(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

PHASE 1: Upgrading and extending national border surveillance systems and 
interlinking national infrastructures in a communication network. 

PHASE 2:  Targeting research and development to improve the performance 
of  surveillance  tools  and  sensors  (e.g.  satellites,  unmanned  aerial  vehicles  / 
UAVs,  etc.),  and  developing  a  common  application  of  surveillance  tools.  A 
common  pre-frontier  intelligence  picture  could  be  developed  to  combine 
intelligence information with that obtained from surveillance tools10. 

PHASE  3:  All  relevant  data  from  national  surveillance,  new  surveillance 
tools,  European  and  international  reporting  systems  and  intelligence  sources 
should  be  gathered,  analysed  and  disseminated  in  a  structured  manner,  to 
create  a  common  information  sharing  environment  between  the  relevant 
national authorities. 

Phases 1 and 2 should cover the maritime and land external borders, having regard to 
changing  migration  patterns.  Phase  3  should  focus  on  the  maritime  domain,  as  it 
concerns  putting  together  the  multitude  of  information  sources  that  are  monitoring 
activities on the open seas; the equivalent challenge of monitoring such a vast space 
does not arise in relation to land borders. It should be noted that as far as air borders 
are concerned, illegal immigration by air is a matter of efficient checks at the border 
crossing  points  at  airports.  EUROCONTROL  is  working  on  securing  the  European 
airspace and air traffic management11. 

4. 

PRESENTATION OF THE DIFFERENT PHASES AND STEPS 

This  chapter  outlines  in  more  detail  the  three  phases  and  includes  the  follow-up 
actions the Commission envisages to take, together with recommendations for action 
by Member States and FRONTEX. A table giving an overview of the different steps, 
leading up to Phase 3, is annexed. 

4.1. 

PHASE  1:  Interlinking  and  streamlining  existing  surveillance  systems  and 
mechanisms at Member States level 

4.1.1. 

Step 1: Providing the essential border surveillance infrastructure at national level 

In the MEDSEA and BORTEC studies and for the EPN, FRONTEX proposed to set 
up  National  Coordination  Centres  in  the  eight  Member  States  forming  the  EU 
southern  maritime  borders  in  the  Mediterranean  Sea  and  in  the  southern  Atlantic 

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11 

For example, to identify abroad a vessel utilised for a criminal activity and to track it by using satellites 
or ship reporting systems until interception on EU territory. 
Air  Traffic  Management  (ATM)  security  is  concerned with  securing  the  ATM  assets  and  services,  to 
prevent  threats  and  limit  their  effects  on  the  overall  aviation  network.  Airspace  security  seeks  to 
safeguard the airspace from unauthorised use, intrusion, illegal activities or any other violation.  

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Ocean12.  For EUROSUR,  such  centres  should  also  be  set  up  in  the  Member  States 
forming the EU eastern land borders and the EU maritime borders in the Black Sea13. 

Such  centres  should  ensure  close  to  real-time  local,  regional  and  national  decision-
making among all national authorities involved in border control tasks. Such centres 
should have the capacity to provide situational awareness of conditions and activities 
along the external borders as well as all the necessary tools to react accordingly. 

The  national  coordination  centre  should  function  as  the  central  part  of  the  national 
border  surveillance  system,  the  latter  covering  all  or  –  based  on  a  risk  analysis  – 
selected parts of the external borders of the Member State concerned. 

4.1.2. 

Step 2: Communication network between the national coordination centres including 
FRONTEX 

A  secured  computerised  communication  network  should  be  set  up  in  order  to 
exchange data 24 hours a day in real-time between centres in Member States as well 
as with FRONTEX.  

FRONTEX should receive information from the national coordination centres to the 
extent  relevant  for  the  coordination  of  joint  operations  and  for  risk  analysis. 
FRONTEX  could  also  be  involved  by  serving  as  a  European  Situation  Centre 
gathering from and disseminating close to real-time information to these centres with 
regard to incidents occurring along the EU external borders. 

4.1.3. 

Step  3:  Support  to  neighbouring  third  countries  for  the  setting  up  of  border 
surveillance infrastructure 

As the existing cooperation mechanisms in the Baltic Sea and in the Black Sea have 
shown,  cooperation  with  neighbouring  third  countries  is  a  pre-requisite  to  achieve 
situational awareness in the maritime domain. While Community financial assistance 
is already provided to most neighbouring third countries in order to support them in 
managing  their  borders,  the  specific  need  for  developing  operational  cooperation 
between  those  third  countries  and  Member  States  calls  for  increased  EU  financial 
and logistical support on border surveillance.  

Recommendations 

Member  States  located  at  the  southern  and  eastern  external  borders  of  the  EU  are 
invited to set up 

•  one single national co-ordination centre, which co-ordinates 24/7 the activities of 
all  national  authorities  carrying  out  external  border  control  tasks  (detection, 
identification,  tracking  and  interception)  and  which  is  able  to  exchange 
information with the centres in other Member States and with FRONTEX; 

•  one  single  national  border  surveillance  system,  which  integrates  surveillance 
activities at all or – based on risk analysis – selected parts of the external border 

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Portugal, Spain, France, Malta, Italy, Slovenia, Greece, Cyprus. 
Norway, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria. 

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and  enables  the  dissemination  of  information  24/7  between  all  authorities 
involved in external border control;  

•  Member States are encouraged to make full use of the financial support available 

under the European Borders Fund for the above two actions14. 

FRONTEX  should,  before  the  end  of  2008,  present  a  risk  assessment  determining 
those parts of the external borders of the Member States which should be covered by 
a  national  surveillance  system,  a  comparison  of  this  assessment  with  the  plans 
presented by the Member States, and a report on the existing and needed surveillance 
infrastructure in selected neighbouring third countries. 

The Commission will set up a group of experts from Member States and FRONTEX 
to  elaborate  guidelines  for  the  tasks  of  and  the  cooperation  between  the  national 
coordination centres as well as on the role of FRONTEX.  

The Commission will launch a technical study under the External Borders Fund and 
coordinated with other ongoing preparatory works to design the system architecture 
and  to  estimate  the  approximate  financial  costs,  for  land  and  maritime  borders  and 
including technical specifications for a secured communication network between the 
national  coordination  centres  and  FRONTEX,  making  use  of  existing  networks 
where  feasible.  The  system  architecture  should  be  flexible  and  adaptable  to 
accommodate  the  application  and  use  of  all  existing  as  well  as  future  border 
surveillance tools (cf also Phase 2). The study will also include an analysis of how to 
link up EUROCONTROL with EUROSUR for the purpose of covering all relevant 
threats related to border surveillance in the long-term. 

On this basis, the Commission will, in spring 2009, 

•  report  to  the  Council  on  the  progress  made  on  the  guidelines  for  the  national 
coordination  centres,  and  will  assess  the  need  for  a  legislative  initiative  in  this 
regard; 

•  present  an  estimate  on  the  approximate  financial  costs  for  the  continued 
development  of  national  coordination  centres  and  national  border  surveillance 
systems; 

•  present a proposal for the system architecture for the communication network and 

an estimate of the approximate financial costs for setting it up; 

•  make  an  assessment  of  the  border  surveillance  infrastructure  in  selected 
neighbouring third countries based on the evaluation carried by FRONTEX, while 
using  as  appropriate  this  assessment  in  the  programming  of  relevant  financial 
programmes  in  the  external  relations  domain,  taking  into  account  the  means 
available in the context of the current financial perspectives. 

14 

Member States can use the External Borders Fund to co-finance up to 75% of the costs. See priority 2 
of the strategic guidelines for 2007 to 2013 for the External Borders Fund as laid down in Commission 
Decision C(2007) 3925 (OJ L 233, 5.9.2007, p. 3). 

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4.2. 

PHASE 2: Development and implementation of common tools and applications 
for border surveillance at EU level 

4.2.1. 

Step 4: Research and development to improve the performance of surveillance tools  

In  particular  two  emerging  tools  are  of  interest  for  border  surveillance  purposes  – 
satellites  and  UAVs.  Earth  observation  (EO)  satellites  offer  the  possibility  of 
coverage for much of the earth, including the open sea and third country coasts and 
territories. UAVs can produce detailed images and can be placed over the target area 
on demand.  

EO satellites are useful for monitoring and intelligence gathering with regard to pre-
defined  areas,  but  are  currently  of  limited  use  for  tracking.  In  wide  area  searches 
small targets cannot be found, whereas for high resolution imagery the area swept is 
small  and  therefore  the  position  of  the  target  has  to  be  known,  e.g.  on  the  basis  of 
intelligence given.  

UAVs  and  satellites  can  track  a  vessel  in  European  and  international  waters. 
However,  currently  UAVs  are  not  allowed  to  fly  in  civil  airspace  for  legal  and 
technological reasons. Extending their operation to coastal areas of third countries of 
departure  would  require  appropriate  agreements  with  those  third  countries.  In  this 
respect,  the  overall  context  of  our  relations  with  the  third  countries  concerned  will 
have to be taken into account. 

4.2.2. 

Step 5: Common application of surveillance tools 

The application of new surveillance tools could provide Member States’ authorities 
with  surveillance  information  on  their  external  borders  and  on  the  pre-frontier  area 
on a more frequent, reliable and cost-efficient basis. Consideration should be given 
on how the EU can support Member States in developing and using such tools, with 
regard  to  investments  or  by  setting  up  mechanisms  allowing  for  a  shared  use  of 
capital intensive tools such as satellites. FRONTEX could act as a facilitator e.g. to 
liaise with service providers in order to procure satellite imagery on behalf of several 
Member States or co-ordinate the sharing of equipment such as UAVs. 

4.2.3. 

Step 6: Common pre-frontier intelligence picture 

The  deployment  of  new  tools  opens  the  possibility  for  strategic  information  to  be 
gathered  by  FRONTEX  from  various  sources  as  well  as  from  Member  States' 
authorities and from third countries in order to recognise patterns and analyse trends, 
supporting the detection of migration routes and the prediction of risks.  

In practice that could serve to establish a common pre-frontier intelligence picture as 
a  complement  to  the  risk  analyses  currently  developed  by  FRONTEX.  Such  a 
common tool could also take on a more operational character and enable a targeted 
intelligence reaction, coordinated via the situation centre to be set up by FRONTEX.  

Recommendations 

The  7th  Framework  Programme  for  research  and  development  (security  and  space 
themes) should be used to improve the performance and use of surveillance tools to 
increase the area covered, the number of suspicious activities detected as well as to 

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improve  the  identification  of  potentially  suspicious  targets  and  the  access  to  high 
resolution observation satellite data.  

Therefore, in spring 2009, the Commission should present to the Council a concept 
allowing  Member  States  to  receive  information  derived  from  satellites  and  other 
common surveillance tools with regard to their external borders and the pre-frontier 
area  on  a  more  frequent  and  reliable  basis  in  the  context  of  GMES  (Global 
Monitoring  for  Environment  and  Security)15.  This  concept  should  also  include  an 
estimate of the approximate financial costs. 

In  spring  2009,  FRONTEX  should  present,  in  close  cooperation  with  the  GMES 
Bureau of the Commission, a gap analysis of the current and potential future use of 
satellites  for  border  surveillance  purposes  by  Member  States  in  order  to  further 
define  the  objectives  to  be  pursued  for  the  common  application  of  such  tools  at 
European level.  

The Commission will launch a study under the External Borders Fund analysing the 
concept  and  approximate  financial  costs  of  a  "common  pre-frontier  intelligence 
picture" and report back to the Council in spring 2009. 

4.3. 

PHASE  3:  Creation  of  a  common  monitoring  and  information  sharing 
environment for the EU maritime domain  

Phase 3 will focus exclusively on the maritime domain. The objective of this phase is 
to  integrate  all  existing  sectoral  systems  which  are  reporting  and  monitoring  traffic 
and activities in sea areas under the jurisdiction of the Member States and in adjacent 
high  seas  into  a  broader  network,  thus  allowing  border  control  authorities  to  take 
advantage  of  the  integrated  use  of  these  various  systems.  This  network  constitutes 
also an aim of the integrated Maritime Policy of the EU. 

4.3.1. 

Step 7: Integrated network of reporting and surveillance systems for border control 
and internal security purposes covering the Mediterranean Sea, the southern Atlantic 
Ocean (Canary Islands) and the Black Sea  

Due  to  the  complexity  of  developing  such  a  "system  of  systems",  and  taking  into 
account the current migratory pressure, in a first step the integrated network should 
be limited to the areas mentioned above and focus on internal security, linking border 
control  authorities,  and  other  European  and  national  authorities  with  security 
interests and responsibilities in the maritime domain together. 

To this end, a Maritime Policy pilot project and preparatory action will be launched 
in  2008  to  develop  working  prototypes  that  can  help  to  define  the  appropriate 
technology  and  approximate  financial  costs of  cooperation  and  information  sharing 
between sectoral maritime authorities as well as first components of the final system. 

Further  actions  will  be  taken  to  encourage  the  progressive  development  of  an 
integrated  network  of  maritime  reporting  and  surveillance  systems,  in  which 
information  from  different  systems  set  up  to  meet  European  and  international 
organisations  (Vessel  Monitoring  System,  Automatic  Identification  System,  Long 

15 

See also Annexes 10 and 12 of the impact assessment. 

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Range Identification and Tracking System, SafeSeaNet, etc.) as well as from national 
surveillance  systems  (e.g.  SIVE,  SPATIONAV,  Vessel  Traffic  Management  and 
Information System etc.), jointly operated surveillance services (e.g. radar satellites, 
UAVs), and intelligence sources are collected, fused, analysed and disseminated in a 
structured manner at local, Member States' or European level as appropriate.  

The analysis of this data should serve to recognise patterns, analyse trends and detect 
anomalies  and  thereby  predict  risks.  The  information  should  be  available  to  all 
national  coordination  centres  concerned,  to  facilitate  command  and  control  and 
decision making in near-real-time. 

This  common  environment  could  also  cover  activities  such  as  the  screening  of 
vessels, people and cargo. Special attention has to be given to the security of these 
systems and tools, ensuring appropriate confidentiality, integrity and availability.  

A study  on  the  legal  aspects  of  the  envisaged  interoperability  of  the  different 
surveillance  systems  will  be  launched  in  2008  within  the  framework  of  the  EU 
Maritime Policy. 

4.3.2. 

Step 8: Integrated  network of reporting and surveillance  systems for the whole  EU 
maritime domain 

As  stated  in  the  action  plan16  accompanying  the  Communication  on  an  Integrated 
Maritime Policy for the EU17, the Commission will announce in the 2nd half of 2008 
in the form of a Communication a work plan for further steps towards the integration 
of  all  European  maritime  reporting  and  surveillance  systems.  It  will  go  beyond 
border related aspects, thus covering all maritime activities, such as maritime safety, 
protection of the marine environment, fisheries control, and law enforcement. 

Recommendations 

By  2009,  the  Commission  should  present  to  the  Council  an  outline  for  the  system 
architecture for an integrated network of reporting  and surveillance  systems for the 
Mediterranean Sea, the southern Atlantic Ocean (Canary Islands) and the Black Sea, 
which  would  allow  border  control  authorities  to  make  full  use  of  the  integrated 
maritime  reporting  and  surveillance  systems.  This  outline  should  take  into  account 
the results of a study to be launched under the External Borders Fund, studies carried 
out under the 7th Framework Programme for Research and Development, as well as 
other relevant preparatory work done. 

In  the  framework  of  the  EU  Maritime  Policy,  the  Commission  will  also  present  a 
Communication setting out a work plan for further steps towards the integration of 
all  European  maritime  reporting  and  surveillance  systems  covering  all  maritime 
activities in the Mediterranean Sea, the southern Atlantic Ocean (Canary Islands) and 
the  Black  Sea  regions  with  a  view  to  be  extended  later  to  the  whole  EU  maritime 
domain. 

16 
17 

SEC(2007) 1278, 10.10.2007, p. 8. 
COM(2007) 575, 10.10.2007, p. 6. 

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5. 

PROTECTION OF PERSONAL DATA 

The  different  activities  referred  to  in  the  previous  sections  may  involve  the 
processing  of  personal  data.  Thus  the  principles  of  personal  data  protection  law 
applicable  in  the  European  Union  are  to  be  observed18,  meaning  that  personal  data 
must be processed fairly and lawfully, collected for specified, explicit and legitimate 
purposes and not further processed in a way incompatible with those purposes. The 
processing of personal data within the context of EUROSUR must therefore be based 
on  appropriate  legislative  measures,  which  define  the  nature  of  the  processing  and 
lay down appropriate safeguards. 

6. 

CONCLUSIONS 

–  The  Commission  invites  the  Council  and  the  European  Parliament  to  discuss  the 

recommendations put forward in this Communication. 

–  The  Commission  intends  to  launch  the  work  on  elaborating  guidelines,  together  with  the 
Member  States,  for  the  tasks  of  and  the  cooperation  between  the  national  coordination 
centres and FRONTEX immediately after having published this Communication. 

–  In  spring  2009,  the  Commission  will  report  back  to  the  Council  on  progress  made  and 
present concrete proposals for the set up and launch of EUROSUR (Phases 1-3) as outlined 
in  this  Communication,  including  covering  the  complete  system  architecture  for 
connecting national border surveillance systems and the common application and use of all 
relevant tools. 

18 

Cf. Directive 95/46/EC (OJ L 281, 23.11.1995, p. 31); Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 (OJ L 8, 12.1.2001, 
p. 1); Council of Europe Convention of 28.1.1981 (ETS 108).  

EN 

11 

   EN 

 
                                                 
Phases / Steps 

Responsible 

EU funding 

Timetable 

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c
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I

s
l
o
o
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n
o
m
m
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.
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1. Setting up of 
national coordination 
centres and national 
surveillance systems 
2. Communication 
network between 
national centres 
including FRONTEX 
3. Support for 
neighbouring 
countries in setting up 
infrastructure 
4. Research and 
development to 
improve surveillance 
tools 

Member States  External Borders 

Fund (EBF) 

Member 
States; 
FRONTEX 

Council, 
FRONTEX, 
Commission 

Commission 

EBF for Member 
States’ parts; 
FRONTEX 
budget 
FRONTEX 
budget for study 

7th Framework 
Programme for 
research and 
development 
(FP7) 
FP7 

5. Common 
application of 
surveillance tools 

Commission, 
FRONTEX 

6. Common pre-
frontier intelligence 
picture 
7. Integrated network 
for Mediterranean 
Sea, Canary Islands 
and Black Sea 

Commission, 
FRONTEX 

Member 
States, 
Commission 

EBF for study.  
FRONTEX for 
implementation 
EBF and FP7 for 
studies 

8. Extension to 
Atlantic Ocean, North 
and Baltic Seas 

Council, 
Commission 

To be decided 

2008 

Programming. 
Risk assessment 
by FRONTEX 

2009 

Procurement. 
Report on 
guidelines 

Study on network 
architecture 

Study on 
surveillance 
infrastructure 

Presentation of 
study and 
discussion 

Presentation of 
study and 
discussion 

2010 

2011 

2012 

2013 

Implementation 

Reserve year 

Implementation 

Reserve year 

To extent possible, support to selected third countries 

Programming and execution of R&D projects to improve performance of surveillance tools 

Study on 
common 
application of 
surveillance 
tools 
Development of 
concept 

Studies on 
architecture and 
preparatory 
action (Maritime 
Policy of EU) 

Presentation of 
study and 
discussion 

Presentation of 
concept 

Presentation of 
system 
architecture for 
EUROSUR part 

Implementation 

Implementation 

Implementation of EUROSUR relevant part 

To be determined following 2008 Communication 

EN 

12 

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