REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION THIRD REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE EUROPEAN COUNCIL AND THE COUNCIL on the operationalisation of the European Border and Coast Guard
Date: 2017-05-02
Institutions: Directorate-General for Migration and Home Affairs, European Commission
Subjects: EU migration policy, EU office or agency, European cooperation, Schengen Agreement, border control, external border of the EU, illegal migration, operation of the Institutions, paramilitary force, return migration

EN 

   EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 2.5.2017  COM(2017) 219 final   REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION THIRD REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE EUROPEAN COUNCIL AND THE COUNCIL  on the operationalisation of the European Border and Coast Guard   
 
 
1.  EUROPEAN  BORDER  AND  COAST  GUARD  –  PUTTING  IN  PLACE 

EUROPEAN INTEGRATED BORDER MANAGEMENT  

Protecting  the  external  borders  of  the  European  Union,  including  through  the  European 
Border and Coast Guard, is one of the key pillars of the comprehensive European policy 
on  migration  on  which  the  European  Union  is  delivering  in  order  to  address  the 
immediate,  medium  as  well  as  long  term  needs  identified  in  the  European  Agenda  on 
Migration.  The  present  report  takes  stock  of  the  progress  made  since  the  beginning  of 
March  2017  in  the  operationalisation  of  the  European  Border  and  Coast  Guard  and 
reviews  the  implementation  of  each  step  identified  in  the  first  and  second  progress 
reports.  In  particular,  the  report  provides  an  update  on  the  recently  completed  stages  of 
the  vulnerability  assessment  process  and  on  the  ongoing  deployments  to  the  frontline 
Member States. It also reports on the decisions and discussions held at the last meeting of 
the Management Board  on 29-30 March 2017.    

This  report  also  outlines  the  important  process  to  develop  the  central  concept  of  the 
European Border and Coast Guard Regulation, namely to develop a strategic framework 
to ensure that the European Integrated Border Management at  the external borders is in 
place. This will further develop the principle of an integrated external border management 
system referred to in Article 77(2)(d) TFEU.  

2.  OPERATIONAL SUPPORT TO MEMBER STATES 

The European Border and Coast Guard Agency continues providing operational support 
on  the  ground  to  Member  States  in  border  management  with  over  1,500  border  guards 
and  other  relevant  staff  being  deployed  by  the  Agency  at  different  sections  of  the  EU 
external borders.  

2.1.  Deployment in frontline Member States 

Greece  

The Agency implements three different operations in Greece. Joint Operation Poseidon in 
the Aegean Sea supports Greece in border control and the implementation of the hotspot 
approach on the Aegean islands and of the EU-Turkey Statement.  

866  officers  are  deployed  by  the  Agency  in  the  context  of  Joint  Operation  Poseidon 
including the support for readmission activities and 280 security officers, co-financed by 
the Agency, are deployed by the Greek Police. The deployment also includes 3 offshore 
patrol  vessels,  2  coastal  patrol  vessels,  9  coastal  patrol  boats,  1  fixed  wing  aircraft,  2 
helicopters, 20 patrol cars, 4 buses and 1 thermo-vision vehicle.  

The  Agency  also  supports  Greece  through  Joint  Operations  Flexible  Operational 
Activities and Focal Points in border control activities, with the deployment of altogether 
54  officers  at  Greece's  land  borders  with  Turkey,  Albania  and  the  former  Yugoslav 
Republic  of  Macedonia.  In  particular,  the  operational  activity  in  Northern  Greece 
enhances  border  surveillance  and  prevents  irregular  secondary  movements,  thus  further 
reinforcing the EU's response to the challenges at the Western Balkan route. The current 
deployment consists of 17 officers whereas the agreed operational plan foresees over 60 
officers, meaning a continued shortfall of around 40 officers.  

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Italy 

Under  the  umbrella  of  Joint  Operation  Triton  deployed  in  Italy  and  in  the  Central 
Mediterranean Sea, the Agency has deployed 345 officers, including crew members of the 
deployed assets and experts assisting in the implementation of the hotspot approach. The 
deployment is supported by 3 aircrafts, 2 helicopters, 2 offshore patrol vessels, 6 coastal 
patrol vessels and 3 coastal patrol boats.  

Bulgaria  

The Agency continues to assist Bulgaria in controlling the land borders, also in view of 
preventing  irregular  secondary  movements.  The  support  is  provided  through  Joint 
Operations  Flexible  Operational  Activities  and  Focal  Points  at  Bulgaria's  land  borders 
with  Turkey  and  Serbia. The current  deployment  includes  149  officers  supported by  11 
dog  teams,  8  thermo-vision  vehicles,  41  patrol  cars,  8  CO2  detectors  and  39  smartdeck 
cameras.  

Spain 

Joint  Operation  Indalo  2017  was  launched  on  3  May  2017  to  support  coordinated 
operational activities at the external sea borders of the Western Mediterranean region in 
order  to  control  irregular  migration  flows  towards  the  EU  and  to  tackle  cross  border 
crime. The deployment in May foresees 61 officers supported by 1 aircraft and 1 offshore 
patrol vessel. 

Western Balkans  

135  officers  are  currently  deployed  in  other  Member  States  to  assist  in  border 
management in the Western Balkan region. The most important deployments are carried 
out in the framework of Joint Operations Flexible Activities at the land borders of Croatia 
and Hungary with Serbia. They are supported by 10 dog teams, 4 thermo-vision vehicles,  
33 patrol cars, 1 CO2 detector and 12 smartdeck cameras.  

2.2.  Pooling  of  resources  and  building  own  capacities  of  the  Agency  in  view  of 

providing operational support 

At  its  meeting  on  29-30  March  2017,  the  Agency's  Management  Board  was  presented 
with  a  draft  annual  2017  report  on  the  commitments  of  the  Member  States  to  the 
European Border and Coast Guard Teams and the Technical Equipment Pool which will 
be  shortly  submitted  to  the  European  Parliament  in  line  with  the  Agency's  reporting 
obligations1.  

The  report  stressed  the  significant  increase  of  the  Member  States'  involvement  in  the 
Agency's operational activities in 2016 as compared to the previous years. The number of 
European Border and Coast Guard Team members deployed has more than doubled from 
3,584  in  2015  to  8,353  in  2016,  and  the  total  duration  of  deployments  has  more  than 
tripled  from  128,607  man/days  in  2015  to  411,939  man/days  in  2016.  The provision  of 
technical  assets  has  also  increased  from  2015  to  2016:  the  patrolling  hours  of  offshore 

1   Articles 20(12) and 39(13) of the European Border and Coast Guard Regulation. 

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patrol vessels increased by 14%, of coastal patrol vessels by 41% and of patrol cars by 
34%.   

There continue to be significant gaps in the ongoing operations, both in terms of human 
resources and technical equipment as compared to the needs assessed by the Agency in 
accordance  with  its  risk  analysis.  In  total,  the  Agency  estimates  the  overall  gap  of 
man/days of deployments to amount to nearly 60,000 for all its operations in 2017.  

To fill these gaps, the Agency has been informing Member States on the needed resources 
on a weekly basis since the end of February 2017. The Agency is also increasing its own 
capabilities  to  provide  support  to  frontline  Member  States  by  leasing  or  purchasing 
equipment or services. The Agency is currently running several tendering procedures for 
the acquisition of aerial surveillance services and mobile offices.  

As of 2017, the Agency will use EUR 10 million per year (EUR 40 million in total for 
2017-2020) to acquire its own equipment, in particular small and medium size assets. The 
Agency is already examining the ways to build up its own permanent capabilities and/or 
to maintain them operational after acquisition.  

It  is  essential  that  the  Agency  elaborates  a  comprehensive strategy,  to  be endorsed  by 
the Management Board, on how the Agency's own capabilities will be developed/used 
in  2017-2020  taking  into  account  different  options  available  to  the  Agency  (i.e. 
purchasing, renting, leasing, long term deployments).  

Next steps: 

The European Border and Coast Guard Agency should   

  Proactively  seek  the  necessary  contributions  to  the  ongoing  operations  in  the 

framework of bilateral contacts with Member States.  

  Develop  and  present  to  the  Management  Board  for  endorsement  by  November 
2017  a  comprehensive  strategy  on  how  the  Agency's  own  capabilities  will  be 
developed/used in 2017-2020. 

Member States should  

  Ensure  that  the  agreed  resources  are  made  available  to  the  Agency  for  the 

running of operations and the mandatory pools. 

  Provide the following resources on the basis of the currently identified gaps: 

Gaps for Greece  

Joint Operation Poseidon 

May  2017:  until  16  May  27  experts  (operational  needs:  197  experts),  2  coastal  patrol 
boats  (20%  of  the  operational  needs  -  due  to  lack  of  offers,  the  gap  is  covered  by  host 
Member  State  asset  financed  by  the  Agency),  1  offshore  patrol  vessels  (50%  of  the 
operational needs - due to lack of offers, the gap is covered by host Member State asset 
financed by the Agency), 2 transport vehicles (33% of the operational needs) 

16 May- 29 June 2017: 3 experts (operational needs:197 experts)  

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June 2017: 3 coastal patrol boats (30% of the operational needs - due to lack of offers, the 
gap is partially covered by host Member State assets financed by the Agency), 1 offshore 
patrol vessel (50% of the operational needs - due to lack of offers, the gap is covered by 
host  Member  State  asset  financed  by  the  Agency),  2  transport  vehicles  (33%  of  the 
operational needs) 

27 June – 17 August 2017: 53 officers, (operational needs: 197 experts) 

July 2017: 4 coastal patrol boats (40% of the operational needs), 1 helicopter (50% of the 
operational  needs),  1  offshore  patrol  vessel  (50%  of  the  operational  needs),  2  transport 
vehicles (33% of the operational needs) 

Joint  Operation  Flexible  Operational  Activities  and  Focal  Points  at  the  Northern  Greek 
land border 

26  April  –  24  May  2017:  34  officers  (operational  needs:  61  officers),  1  thermo-vision 
vehicle (100% of the operational needs), 14 patrol cars (54% of the operational needs), 2 
dog  teams  (67%  of  the  operational  needs),  2  transportation  vehicles  (100%  of  the 
operational needs) 

24 May – 21 June 2017: 35 officers (operational needs: 61 officers, 16 patrol cars (62% 
of the operational needs), 3 dog teams (100% of the operational needs), 2 transportation 
vehicles (100% of the operational needs) 

21 June – 19 July 2017: 42 officers (operational needs: 62 officers), 20 patrol cars (77% 
of the operational needs), 3 dog teams (100% of the operational needs), 2 transportation 
vehicles (100% of the operational needs) 

Gaps for Bulgaria (Joint Operations Flexible Operational  Activities and Focal Points)  

26 April – 24 May 2017: 45 officers (operational needs: 175 officers - due to the lack of 
offers 24 officers from host Member State to be cofinanced by the Agency), 19 patrol cars 
(32% of the operational needs - due to the lack of offers 12 patrol cars from host Member 
State to be cofinanced by the Agency), 9 dog teams (43% of the operational needs) 

24 May – 21 June 2017: 45 officers (operational needs: 175 officers - due to the lack of 
offers 24 officers from host Member State to be cofinanced by the Agency), (2 thermo-
vision  vehicles  (25%  of  the  operational  needs),  14  patrol  cars  (23%  of  the  operational 
needs), 11 dog teams (52% of the operational needs) 

21 June – 19 July 2017: 68 officers (operational needs: 175 officers - due to the lack of 
offers  24  officers  from  host  Member  State  to  be  cofinanced  by  the  Agency),  3  thermo-
vision  vehicles  (38%  of  the  operational  needs),  25  patrol  cars  (42%  of  the  operational 
needs - due to the lack of offers 12 patrol cars from host Member State to be cofinanced 
by the Agency), 11 dog teams (52% of the operational needs) 

Gaps for Italy (Joint Operation Triton) 

May 2017: 14 officers, 2 coastal patrol boats (67% of the operational needs - due to lack 
of  offers,  the  gap  is  covered  by  host  Member  State  assets  financed  by  the  Agency),  4 
coastal  patrol  vessels  (67%  of  the  operational  needs  -  due  to  lack  of  offers,  the  gap  is 

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covered by host Member State assets financed by the Agency), 1 offshore patrol vessels 
(50% of the operational needs) 

June 2017: 27 officers (operational needs: 126 officers), 1 coastal patrol boat (33% of the 
operational needs - due to lack of offers, the gap is covered by host Member State asset 
financed by the Agency), 4 coastal patrol vessels (67% of the operational needs - due to 
lack of offers, the gap is covered by host Member State assets financed by the Agency)  

July 2017: 23 officers (operational needs: 126 officers), 1 coastal patrol boat (33% of the 
operational needs), 4 coastal patrol vessels (67% of the operational needs), 0.5 month of 
fixed-wing aircraft (25% of the operational needs), 1 helicopter (50% of the operational 
needs), 1 offshore patrol vessel (33% of the operational needs) 

Gaps for Spain (Joint Operation Indalo) 

May 2017: 5 officers (operational needs: 11 officers - due to the lack of offers, the gap is 
partially covered by 3 officers from host Member State to be cofinanced by the Agency), 
1 offshore patrol vessel (100% of the operational needs - due to lack of offers, the gap is 
covered by host Member State asset financed by the Agency) 

June 2017: 4 officers (operational needs: 11 officers - due to the lack of offers, the gap is 
partially covered by 3 officers from host Member State to be cofinanced by the Agency), 
1 offshore patrol vessel (100% of the operational needs - due to lack of offers, the gap is 
covered by host Member State asset financed by the Agency) 

July 2017: 3 officers (operational needs: 11 officers) 

3.  PROGRESS  MADE  IN  THE  IMPLEMENTATION  OF  THE  PRIORITY 

AREAS  

3.1.  Reinforcing  the  European  Border  and  Coast  Guard  Agency’s  rapid  reaction 

capabilities, including the mandatory pooling of resources 

Rapid Reaction Pool 

While the full availability of more than 1,500 border guards and other officers has been 
confirmed, two issues still affect the full readiness of the Rapid Reaction Pool in line with 
the European Border and Coast Guard Regulation:   

1) Nomination of border guards  

The requirement  for nominating the  border guards is clearly defined in Article 20(4)  of 
the  European  Border  and  Coast  Guard  Regulation.  The  Agency  needs  the  names  of 
officers  to  ensure  the  quality  of  the  pool  by  verifying  whether  the  nominated  border 
guards correspond to the defined profiles and by ensuring that they are adequately trained 
prior to their participation in the operational activities. By now, only a limited number of 
Schengen  States  (Belgium,  the  Czech  Republic,  Finland,  France,  Romania  and 
Switzerland)  have  provided  the  names  of  experts  matching  the  size  of  their  respective 
contributions foreseen in Annex 1 to the European Border and Coast Guard Regulation.  

The Commission raised this issue at the Justice and Home Affairs Council meeting on 27 
March 2017. Several Member States voiced concerns, arguing that the full availability of 

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all  nominated  border  guards  cannot  be  guaranteed  due  to  holidays,  sick  leave  or  other 
absences.  

At  the  Agency's  Management  Board  meeting  on  29-30  March  2017,  the  Commission 
stressed  that  a  practical  solution  should  be  explored  in  full  compliance  with  the  legal 
basis.  General  elements  of  such  a  practical  solution2  were  presented  at  the  Pooled 
Resources Network meeting on 25-26 April 2017. However a number of issues required 
futher  clarifications.  The  Agency  will  circulate  in  early  May  a  concept  note  defining 
detailed  modalities  of  the  proposed  solution.  Member  States  will  be  provided  with 
flexibility within the limits of their own contributions to the regular part of the European 
Border and Coast Guard pool while at the same time the Agency can verify compliance 
with the profiles and ensure training. 

2) Harmonisation of profiles 

The  Agency  still  has  to  match  the  number  of  experts  for  some  profiles  pledged  by  the 
Member States in line with the thresholds set up in the relevant implementing decision of 
the  Management  Board.  While  143  border  surveillance  officers  and  several  officers  for 
other  profiles  were  over-pledged,  there  is  a  deficit  of  167  registration/fingerprinting 
experts  and  38  screening  experts.  The  Agency  should  proactively  address  this  issue  in 
bilateral contacts with Member States, in particular with those ones which contributed to 
the  most  over-pledged  profiles 
to 
in  order 
registration/fingerprinting officers and screening officers.  

their  contributions 

to  alter 

Rapid Reaction Equipment Pool 

Following  the  first  and  second  progress  reports,  the  Agency  has  re-launched  a  call  for 
complementary  contributions  to  the  Pool  in  the  course  of  March.  As  a  result  of  these 
efforts, by mid-April 2017, no more gaps exist for patrol cars and additional pledges were 
made  for  coastal  patrol  boats,  offshore  patrol  vessels  and  thermo-vision  vehicles. 
However,  considerable  gaps  continue  to  exist  for  most  types  of  equipment.  The 
Commission  regrets  that  there  are  no  new  Member  State  pledges  to  the  Pool  which 
continues to be ensured by only 14 Member States (Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech 
Republic,  Germany,  Finland,  Hungary,  Italy,  Latvia,  the  Netherlands,  Poland,  Portugal, 
Romania and Slovenia).   

Next steps:  

The European Border and Coast Guard Agency should 

  Enter  urgently  in  bilateral  discussions  with  the  Schengen  States,  in  particular 
with  those  that  have  not  yet  contributed  to  the  Rapid  Reaction  Equipment  Pool  
(Belgium,  Cyprus,  Denmark,  Estonia,  France,  Greece,  Malta,  Norway, 
Luxembourg,  Lithuania, Spain,  Slovakia,  Sweden,  Switzerland)  in  view  of  filling 
the identified gaps of equipment. 

  Ensure by the end of May 2017 that the experts nominated to the Rapid Reaction 
Pool,  especially  registration/fingerprinting  officers  and  screening  officers,  are 

2   All of the 5,000 officers in the regular European Border and Coast Guard Pool will be nominated 
(registered by names) and Member States will indicate which of those 5,000 officers will form part 
of the 1,500-person Rapid Reaction Pool. This indication could be adjusted at any time during the 
year or in case of rapid border intervention being activated with the replacements within the same 
profiles from the regular part of the European Border and Coast Guard pool.  

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provided  according  to  the  numbers  of  specific  profiles  defined  by  the 
Management Board.  

  Verify by the end of June 2017 the availability of all 1,500 border guards in the 
Rapid  Reaction  Pool  and  carry  out  by  the  end  of  October  2017  a  mock 
deployment of human and technical resources from the Pools.  

Member States should  

  Fill the identified gaps of the Rapid Reaction Equipment Pool by the end of May 
2017. Particular efforts should be made by those Member States which have not 
yet contributed. 

  Communicate  by  the  end  of  June  2017  the  names  of  the  experts  to  the  Rapid 

Reaction Pool. 

3.2.  Carrying  out  preventive  vulnerability  assessments  based  on  a  common 

methodology 

The reinforcement of preventive assessments guaranteeing the well-functioning of the 
Schengen area continues to be a top political priority for the European Union. Intensive 
efforts have been made by the Agency to prepare the vulnerability assessments, which 
are essential for the Schengen quality control process, in accordance with the common 
methodology and the agreed calendar.  

Except  Denmark3,  all  the  Member  States  have  provided  to  the  Agency  the  data  on  the 
existing  capacities.  For  the  majority  of  Member  States,  the  completeness  of  data  was 
satisfactory.  However,  for  8  States  [France,  Hungary,  Italy,  Malta,  Norway,  Sweden, 
Switzerland, Spain] only partial information (between 50-75% of the required data) was 
provided.  It  is  essential  that  Member  States  reinforce  in  the  long-term  their  national 
capacities to collect such data.  

In March-April 2017, the Agency carried out for all Member States (except Denmark and 
Germany,  due  to  late  submission  of  data)  the  socalled  baseline  assessments,  i.e.  an  in-
depth analysis of Member States' existing capacities in conjunction with current threat 
indicators against a set of objective criteria. The draft baseline assessments were already 
consulted  with  the  Member  States.  Final  individual  reports with  the  key  findings  of  the 
assessments, in particular identifying the most urgent vulnerabilities, were communicated 
at the end of April 2017 to 8 Member States. The final individual reports to the remaining 
Member  States  are  expected  to  be  communicated  in  early  May  due  to  the  belated 
submission of comments by the Member States concerned. 

Based on the baseline assessment reports, the Agency’s Executive Director will decide by 
the  end  of  May  2017  on  possible  recommendation(s)  to  be  addressed  to  the  Member 
State(s)  concerned.  Given  that  the  key  objective  of  vulnerability  assessments  is  to 
identify,  especially  for  those  Member  States  facing  specific  and  disproportionate 
challenges,  possible  immediate  consequences  at  the  external  borders  and  subsequent 
consequences on the functioning of the Schengen area, the recommendations should – as 

3   In accordance with Article 4 of Protocol No 22 on the position of Denmark annexed to the TEU and 
to the TFEU, Denmark has notified that it would implement the European Border and Coast Guard 
Regulation as of 14 March 2017.  

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matter of priority – focus on the most urgent vulnerabilities in relation to the current 
challenges at the external borders affecting the well-functioning of the Schengen area. 

It  is  also  essential  that  the  recommendations  with  the  proposed  measures  are  precise, 
operational  and  build  on  the  detailed  technical  information  acquired  from  the  Member 
States.  Only  under  these  conditions  the  Agency  will  be  able  to  effectively  monitor  the 
implementation  of  the  recommendations  and  measures  by  the  Member  States.  In 
case  of  non-implementation  of  the  measures  within  the  set  time  limit,  the  Executive 
Director  has  to  refer  the  matter  further  to  the  Management  Board  and  to  notify  the 
Commission.  

The baseline assessments will also result in the identification of several Member States in 
relation  to  which  the  Agency will  carry  out  the  socalled  simulation  exercises  to  assess 
their capacities to face future challenges at the external borders. These exercises would 
examine and test the Member States' capacities, in particular their contingency planning, 
against the risks and scenarios which have not materialised but could be viably assumed 
based on the analysis of the situation in neighbouring third countries and main countries 
of origin and transit. Once the results of the simulation exercises are available by the end 
of October 2017, a second round of possible recommendations can be addressed by the 
Executive Director to the Member States concerned. 

As  of  April  2017  the  Agency  is  expected  to  run  the  socalled  Emerging  Threat 
Assessment. Based on a monthly scanning of Member States through relevant indicators, 
the  Agency  may  trigger  at  any  time  a  specific  assessment/simulation  to  examine 
capacities  of  a  Member  State  to  face  new  emerging  threats,  leading  possibly  to  further 
recommendations on vulnerabilities which have not been taken into consideration in the 
previous baseline assessments or simulation exercises.  

Next steps:  

The European Border and Coast Guard Agency should  

  Prioritise  the  identification  of  the  most  urgent  vulnerabilities  based  on  the  first 

results of the vulnerability assessment process and other information.  

  Ensure the adequate staffing of the team dealing with the vulnerability assessment 

process by summer 2017. 

  Based on the results of the baseline assessments, make recommendations by the 
end  of  May  2017  to  the  relevant  Member  States  to  address  the  most  urgent 
vulnerabilities as a matter of priority.  

  By 15 June 2017, transmit the first results of the vulnerability assessments to the 
European  Parliament,  the  Council  and  the  Commission  in  accordance  with 
Article 13(9) of the European Border and Coast Guard Regulation.  
  Carry out simulation exercises on the future challenges by October 2017. 
  By  the  end  of  November  2017,  adopt  the  revised  common  methodology  for 

vulnerability assessments based on the experiences gained.  

Member States should  

  Denmark should submit by 15 May 2017 the necessary data in order to allow the 

Agency to carry out the baseline assessment. 

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  Member  States,  which  did  not  provide  the  complete  data  on  existing  capacities, 

should improve their respective national processes of data collection.  

  Member  States,  which  will  receive  recommendations  following  the  baseline 
assessment, should set up the necessary action plans and report regularly to the 
Agency. 

  All Member States selected for the simulation exercise should respond swiftly to 

requests from the Agency for additional data and information. 

3.3.  Support for return 

The pace of return operations supported by the Agency continues to increase. Between 1 
January and 7 April 2017, the Agency provided support to 92 return operations of third-
country nationals, with 3,879 third-country nationals returned.  

At this point, 48 of these 92 operations concerned flights to the Western Balkans. Only a 
limited number of operations took place to the Northern and Western African countries. 
This can be partly explained by the fact that several third countries do not accept charter 
flights and only allow return of their own nationals through commercial flights. For this 
reason, the Agency should swiftly start offering to Member States support for commercial 
flight operations.  

Since  7  January  2017,  three  new  pools  of  forced-return  monitors,  forced-return  escorts 
and  return  specialists  are  available  for  operations.  By  7  April  2017,  25  Member  States 
have  contributed  to  these  pools  by  providing  536  of  the  690  experts  that  are  needed. 
Schengen  States  that  have  not  yet  contributed  to  any  of  the  pools  –  Cyprus  and 
Switzerland – need to do so as a matter of urgency.  

All Member States need to fill the gaps, in particular for the pool of forced return escorts 
where  only  416  experts,  out  of  the  total  600  requested,  were  offered.  Member  States 
should ensure, in cooperation with the Agency, that all the skills and expertise required to 
carry  out  return  related  activities  are  adequately  represented  in  the  pool  of  return 
specialists.  This  is  of  particular  importance  in  light  of  the  increasing  number  of  return 
operations  compared  to  the  past  years,  and  taking  into  account  the  need  for  return 
interventions that may emerge in the coming months.  

The return pools have been put to use in practice. By 7 April 2017, 19 return operations 
have been monitored through the participation of a forced-return monitor from the pool. 
So far, 10 forced-return escorts from the pool have been deployed in operational support. 

An outstanding point of concern is to provide clarity on the practical modalities and rules 
concerning  the  deployment  of  pool  members,  as  well  as  on  their  operational  tasks  and 
legal  responsibilities.  The  Agency  should  strive  to  define  these  elements,  providing  a 
solid framework for the pools and ensuring that they are ready for deployment by the end 
of May 2017 as requested in the previous report. 

To  face  the  additional  workload  and  to  fully  meet  the  expectations  linked  to  the  new 
mandate, the Agency should take immediate action to ensure that available staff positions 
are filled and that the budget allocated to return activities is fully used.  

10 

 
 
In  the  Communication  "On  a  more  effective  return  policy  in  the  European  Union  –  a 
renewed Action Plan"4, the Commission proposed additional measures and actions for the 
Agency to step up return activities. Related progress will be monitored in the next report. 

Next steps: 

The European Border and Coast Guard Agency should 

  Define the practical modalities, rules, operational tasks and legal responsibilities 
for the deployment of the pools' members to ensure that the  pools are ready for 
full deployment by the end of May 2017 at the latest. 

  Fill the available staff positions allocated to return activities by June 2017.  
  Ensure  that  financial  resources  allocated  to  return  activities  for  2017  are  fully 

used.   

The Member States should 

  Contribute immediately to the pools if they have not done it so far (Cyprus, and 

Switzerland). 

  Fill the remaining gaps in the pools. 
 

Immediately start providing, on a monthly basis, information about the indicative 
planning of national return operations, including on the number of returnees and 
third countries of return. 

3.4.  Setting  up  of  the  European  Border  and  Coast  Guard  Agency’s  complaint 

mechanism 

No  new  complaints  were  submitted  since  the  last  report.  The  Agency  still  needs  to 
improve the dissemination of information on the mechanism,  including the accessibility 
of complaint forms at the Agency’s website. A better management of future complaints 
by  the  Agency  will  be  also  ensured  through  an  IT  case  management  system  which  is 
envisaged  to  be  completed  by  June  2017.  Once  all  the  necessary  infrastructure  is  well 
established,  the  Agency  should  initiate  an  information  campaign  to  make  the  complaint 
mechanism more visible.  

As  for  additional  staff  to  support  the  Fundamental  Rights  Officer,  one  temporary  agent 
has  been  recruited  in  March  and  is  due  to  join  the  Agency  in  May  2017.  Recruitment 
procedures  for  two  assistants    (contract  staff)  will  start  in  May  2017.  Moreover,  the 
Agency is expected to dedicate further staff for the Fundamental Rights Officer. 

Next steps:  

The European Border and Coast Guard Agency should 

  Recruit two additional staff members to support the Fundamental Rights Officer 

by the end of July 2017. 

  Complete by end of June 2017 the IT infrastructure to make the complaint forms 

more accessible.  

4   COM(2017) 200 final. 

11 

 
 
                                                            
  Run an information campaign aiming at a better dissemination of the complaint 

mechanism. 

3.5.  Paving the way for better operational cooperation with priority third countries 

by setting a model status agreement 

As  regards  the  Agency’s  operational  cooperation  with  priority  third  countries,  the 
Management  Board  at  its  meeting  on  29-30  March  2017  was  informed  about  the 
Executive  Director's  intention  to  re-open  negotiations  for  a  working  arrangement  for 
cooperation with Libya.  

The  Agency  has  also  presented  a  concept  note  on  cooperation  between  the  Agency's 
Liaison Officers, Liaison Officers of the Member States and European Migration Liaison 
Officers who are deployed in same locations. 

The Liaison Officer to be deployed in Niger will join the Agency on 16 May 2017.  The 
selection procedure for the Liaison Officer to the Western Balkans has also been finalised 
and the selected candidate is expected to join the Agency on 1 July 2017. Both candidates 
will  undergo  a  pre-deployment  training  prior  to  their  respective  deployment  in  Niger 
(June 2017) and Serbia (summer 2017). 

On  8  March  2017,  the  Council  adopted  the  relevant  Decisions  authorising  the 
Commission  to  open  negotiations  with  Serbia  and  the  former  Yugoslav  Republic  of 
Macedonia to agree on the status agreements required for the deployment of European 
Border  and  Coast  Guard  teams  on  their  territories.  The  first  round  of  negotiations  with 
Serbia took place on 7 April 2017 and the next round will be held on 11-12 May 2017. 
The Commission aims at concluding the agreements with Serbia and the former Yugoslav 
Republic of Macedonia as quickly as possible. 

Next steps: 

The Commission will  

  Open  the  formal  negotiations  with  the  former  Yugoslav  Republic  of  Macedonia 

once the latter is ready to start negotiations on the status agreement.  

The European Border and Coast Guard Agency should 

  Finalise  the  recruitment  and  deployment  of  the  Liaison  Officers  to  Niger  and 

Serbia by June and August 2017 respectively.  

3.6.  Headquarters agreement  

The Commission welcomes the signature of the headquarters agreement by the Agency's 
Executive Director and the Polish Minister of Interior on 8 March 2017. The agreement 
will  enter  into  force  three  months  after  the  latest  notification  by  the  parties  on  the 
completion of the internal procedures. The Agency's procedure has been completed with 
the Management Board's approval of the agreement and final signature by the Executive 
Director. On the Polish side, the agreement still needs to be ratified.  

Next step: 

  Poland should ratify the headquarters agreement as soon as possible.  

12 

 
 
 
 
 
3.7. Deployment of Liaison Officers in Member States 

The  Agency  should  monitor  regularly  the  management  of  the  external  borders  by  the 
Member  States  not  only  through  risk  analysis,  information  exchange  and  the  European 
Border  Surveillance  System  (EUROSUR),  but  also  through  the  presence  of  its  own 
Liaisons Officers in Member States.  

At  the  Management  Board  meeting  of  29-30  March  2017,  the  Executive  Director 
presented  a  draft  decision  for  the  Management  Board's  approval  defining  the  role  and 
tasks  of  the  Liaison  Officers,  their  access  to  information  and  clustering  of  several 
Member States under a single Liaison Officer. One Liaison Officer could cover up to four 
Member  States  which  are  geographically  close  to  each  other.  A  Memorandum  of 
Understanding  is  expected  to  be  signed  within  6  months  of  the  Management  Board's 
decision  with  all  Member  States  to  address  the  modalities  of  deployment.  In  the 
meantime, the Agency will recruit and train the adequate candidates.  

Next steps:  

The European Border and Coast Guard Agency should 

  Propose the final draft of the relevant implementing decision to be approved by 

the Management Board by the end of June 2017.  

  Launch  the  relevant  selection  procedure  for  the  recruitment  of  the  Liaison 
Officers  in  view  of  their eventual  recruitment,  training  and  effective  deployment 
at the latest by the end of 2017.  

Member States should 

  Agree  with  the  Agency  on  the  Memorandum  of  Understanding  setting  out  the 

modalities of Liaison Officers' deployment by October 2017. 

3.8.  Increasing staff of the Agency 

In  the  first  90  calendar  days  of  2017,  the  Agency  employed  91  new  staff.  Nearly  100 
recruitment  procedures  are  ongoing  and  132  such  procedures  will  be  launched  in  the 
coming  months.  By  the  end  of  2017,  655  staff  members  are  foreseen  to  work  for  the 
Agency which is nearly twice as many as in 2015. 

The Agency has difficulties to ensure recruitment on the broadest possible geographical 
basis from among Member States as required by Article 27 of the Staff Regulations. The 
Agency is also facing challenges in filling new positions forseen for Seconded National 
Experts  (around  25%  of  all  the  new  posts)  due  to  a  limited  responsiveness  of  Member 
States.  

Next steps:  

The European Border and Coast Guard Agency should 

  Launch  recruitment  procedures  by  end  of  June  2017  for  all  the  posts  foreseen 

under the agreed 2017 establishment plan.  

13 

 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
  Ensure the effective absorption of additional financial resources in line with the 

priorities endorsed by the budgetary authority.  

The Commission will 

  Explore with the Agency the ways of addressing the challenges of recruitment.  

Member States should 

  Ensure better results as regards deploying Seconded National Experts.  

4.  EUROPEAN 
FORWARD  

INTEGRATED  BORDER  MANAGEMENT:  THE  WAY 

4.1. Integrated Border Management 

The European Border and Coast Guard Regulation laid down the general principles for a 
European  Integrated  Border  Management  and  thereby  legally  enacting  for  the  very first 
time the concept enshrined in Article 77(2)(d) TFEU.  

The Regulation defines a list of 11 strategic components, including border control, search 
and rescue in situations which may arise during maritime border surveillance operations, 
risk analysis, interagency cooperation, cooperation between Member States,  a Schengen 
quality  control  mechanism  and  solidarity  mechanisms,  in  particular  Union  funding 
instruments. This is the basis allowing to establish a well-structured strategic framework 
for  the  effective  implementation  of  the  European  Integrated  Border  Management  at 
national and Union level.  

The  operationalisation  of  the  Integrated  Border  Management  concept  needs  to  be 
delivered  through  a  strategic  process  composed  of  three  strands  (1)  defining  a 
European  Integrated  Border  Management  Strategy  at  the  political  level  by  the  EU 
institutions, (2) adopting a technical and operational strategy by the European Border and 
Coast Guard Agency, and (3) setting national Integrated Border Management strategies in 
each  Member  State  to  guarantee  a  unified  implementation  of  the  concept.  This  should 
result  in  creating  an  interoperable  and  unified  strategic  framework  for  European 
Integrated  Border  Management  for  the  European  Border  and  Coast  Guard  to  ensure  its 
effective implementation.  

4.2.  Political framework by the EU institutions  

According  to  the  European  Border  and  Coast  Guard  Regulation,  the  development  of  a 
European  Integrated  Border  Management  strategy  is  a  responsibility  of  the  Union 
institutions.  

The cooperation between the Commission, the European Parliament and the Council 
in establishing the European Integrated Border Management Strategy will be essential. In 
order  to  allow  the  institutions  to  shape  the  political  strategy,  the  Commission,  together 
with the Agency, will organise two dedicated workshops to be held with the participation 
of Member States and of the European Parliament, leading to the delivery of the political 
framework  for  European  Integrated  Border  Management  in  the  form  of  a 
Communication. The European Parliament and the Council will be invited to endorse the 
Communication. 

14 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
4.3.  A technical and operational strategy by the Agency 

In accordance with Article 3(2) of the European Border and Coast Guard Regulation, the 
Agency is tasked to establish a technical and operational strategy for European Integrated 
Border Management. While the Agency should start as soon as possible working on this 
task  in  close  coordination  with  the  Commission,  ultimately,  the  Agency's  Management 
Board  should  adopt  the  operational  and  technical  strategy  only  after  the  corresponding 
political framework is endorsed by the three institutions.  

4.4.  National strategies of the Member States 

National  efforts  should  ensure  the  effective  implementation  of  European  Integrated 
Border Management requires to be translated through national efforts. Article 3(3) of the 
European  Border  and  Coast  Guard  Regulation  states  that  Member  States  shall  establish 
their national strategies for Integrated Border Management in line with the technical and 
operational strategy set out by the Agency. 

Each  Member  State  should  launch  as  soon  as  possible  a  preparatory  process  bringing 
together all relevant national authorities responsible for border management and return in 
view  of  establishing  one  single  national  strategy  supported  by  an  action  plan.  In  this 
regard, Member States should make full use of  the  training programme developed by the 
Commission  and  the  Agency  focusing  on  the  methodology  for  the  development  of 
national  Integrated  Border  Management  strategies.  Subsequent  sessions  are  planned  for 
May, July, September and November 2017.  

Once the political framework has been endorsed by the EU institutions and the Agency's 
operational and technical strategy has been set out, Member States will have to build their 
national strategies accordingly. 

Next steps 

The Commission will 

  Organise 

two  dedicated  workshops 

in  June  and  September  2017  with 
representatives  of  Member  States  and  the  European  Parliament  to  discuss  the 
development  of  the  political  framework  for  a  European  Integrated  Border 
Management.  

  Adopt  by  October  2017  a  Communication  defining  the  main  elements  of  the 

 

political framework for the European Integrated Border Management.  
Include  a  Schengen  evaluation  on  national  Integrated  Border  Management 
strategies for 2018. 

The European Border and Coast Guard Agency should 

  Launch  the  process  for  the  development  of  an  operational  and  technical 
the  

in  close  cooperation  with 

Integrated  Border  Management  strategy 
Commission in the 2nd half of 2017. 

  Adopt the technical and operational strategy for the European Integrated Border 
Management by the Management Board, once the EU institutions agreed on the 
political Integrated Border Management strategy by February 2018. 

15 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  Establish  a  special  Schengen  evaluation  training  for  selected  Integrated  Border 

Management experts in close cooperation with the Commission. 

Member States should  

  Launch  national  processes  to  establish  their  national  Integrated  Border 

Management strategies in June-December 2017. 

  Align their respective national Integrated Border Management strategies with the 
political  strategy  and  the  technical  and  operational  strategy  within  six  months 
after the adoption of the latter. 

  Be  prepared  for  a  Schengen  evaluation  of  their  national  Integrated  Border 

Management strategies (starting late Autumn 2018). 

5.  CONCLUSIONS 

The third report shows that the roll-out of the activities and tools of the European Border 
and Coast Guard Regulation to ensure as soon as possible a reinforced EU capability to 
protect the external borders has continued.  

In particular, the Agency delivered the first baseline vulnerability assessments to almost 
all  Member  States,  and  will  shortly  make  recommendations  to  the  Member  States 
concerned  with  concrete  measures  to  address  the  identified  vulnerabilities.  Equally,  the 
swift  adoption  of  the  Council  Decisions  authorising  the  Commission  to  negotiate  with 
Serbia  and  the  former  Yugoslav  Republic  of  Macedonia  status  agreement  and  the 
immediate first round of the negotiations with Serbia show the continued political priority 
given to operationalising the European Border and Coast Guard.   

However, Member States have made insufficient progress in ensuring the full operational 
capability of the rapid reaction pools, in particular to fill the gaps for the Rapid Reaction 
Equipment Pool. Similarly, further joint efforts are also needed to close continuing gaps 
for the deployments to the ongoing Joint Operations in support of the frontline Member 
States  in  the  effective  management  of  the  external  borders.  These  gaps  need  to  be 
addressed as a matter of priority. The Member States are also encouraged to better use the 
reinforced Agency's capacity to assist in the area of return operations. 

The  Commission  looks  forward  to  working  together  with  the  European  Parliament,  the 
Council and the Agency in elaborating the strategic framework for a European Integrated 
Border Management.    

To accelerate progress on the operationalisation of the European Border and Coast Guard, 
the  Commission  invites  the  Council  to  assess  progress  so  far  and  to  take  the  proposed 
steps.  

The Commission will report again on the progress made to reinforce the external borders 
in the summer. 

16