REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL on the evaluation of the European Border Surveillance System (EUROSUR) A contribution from the European Commission to the Leaders’ meeting in Salzburg on 19-20 September 2018
Date: 2018-09-12
Institutions: Directorate-General for Migration and Home Affairs, European Commission
Subjects: EU migration policy, Frontex, Schengen Agreement, border control, cross-border cooperation, exchange of information, external border of the EU, fight against crime, illegal migration, personal data

EN 

  EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 12.9.2018  COM(2018) 632 final  REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL on the evaluation of the European Border Surveillance System (EUROSUR)      A contribution from the European Commission to the Leaders’ meeting in   Salzburg on 19-20 September 2018  
 
 
Table of Content 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

Introduction .............................................................................................................. 2 

Background .............................................................................................................. 2 

The evaluation of EUROSUR .................................................................................. 3 

3.1.  Scope of the evaluation ..................................................................................... 3 
3.2.  State of play of implementation of EUROSUR ................................................ 4 
3.3.  Results of the evaluation ................................................................................... 5 
3.3.1.  Relevance ............................................................................................ 5 
3.3.2.  Effectiveness ....................................................................................... 7 
3.3.3.  Efficiency ............................................................................................ 8 
3.3.4.  Coherence ............................................................................................ 9 
3.3.5.  EU added value ................................................................................... 9 
3.4.  Compliance with and impact on fundamental rights ....................................... 10 
3.4.1.  Third Countries and Non-Refoulement ............................................. 10 
3.4.2.  Handling of personal data.................................................................. 10 
3.4.3.  Suggested improvements ................................................................... 10 
Issues warranting further attention ......................................................................... 11 

4.1. 

Improving the functioning of EUROSUR ....................................................... 11 
4.1.1.  Reinforcing the competences of the National Coordination Centres 11 
4.1.2. 
Improving the governance of EUROSUR ......................................... 11 
4.1.3.  Reducing technical requirements ...................................................... 11 
4.1.4.  Capitalizing on the EUROSUR Fusion Services .............................. 12 
4.2.  Enlarging the scope of EUROSUR ................................................................. 12 
Inclusion of border checks at border crossing points ........................ 12 
4.2.1. 
4.2.2.  Air border surveillance ...................................................................... 12 
4.2.3.  Cooperation with neighbouring third countries................................. 13 
4.2.4.  EUROSUR and Integrated Border Management .............................. 13 
Conclusions and follow up ..................................................................................... 13 

1 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
1.  INTRODUCTION 

An efficient management of the external borders of the Union is a top priority and a condition 
to properly implement and preserve the Schengen area of free travel, which is one of the major 
achievements of European integration. 

Adopted  in  2013,  Regulation  (EU)  No  1052/2013  establishing  the  European  Border 
Surveillance  System  (EUROSUR) 1  provides  a  common  framework  for  the  exchange  of 
information and for the cooperation between Member States’ border surveillance authorities 
and  the  European  Border  and  Coast  Guard  Agency  (Frontex),  hereafter  referred  to  as  "the 
Agency". The EUROSUR framework is operational since 2 December 2013. The Regulation 
provides  for  an  overall  evaluation  of  EUROSUR  by  the  Commission  every  four  years 
accompanied, where necessary, by appropriate proposals to amend the Regulation.  

The  European  Border  and  Coast  Guard  Regulation 2  adopted  on  14  September  2016 
established the European Border and Coast Guard (EBCG) as a shared responsibility between 
the  Agency  and  the  Member  States,  expanded  the  mandate  of  the  Agency  and  defined  the 
components  of  the  European  Integrated  Border  Management.  Given  that  the  Agency  has  a 
significant role in the implementation of EUROSUR, the novelties introduced by the EBCG 
Regulation have a major impact on the daily implementation of EUROSUR and to be taken 
into account when further developing EUROSUR.  

To  take  into  account  the  full  implementation  of  the  EBCG  Regulation  and  its  impact  on 
EUROSUR, the EUROSUR evaluation, which was initially foreseen for December 2016, was 
postponed to September 2018. 

2.  BACKGROUND 

EUROSUR  establishes  a  mechanism  for  information  exchange  and  cooperation,  which 
enables  the  different  national  authorities  carrying  out  border  surveillance  activities  to 
exchange information and to cooperate at tactical, operational and strategic levels both within 
and between the Member States as well as with the Agency.  

The purpose of EUROSUR is to detect, prevent and combat irregular immigration and cross-
border crime and to contribute to the protection and saving the lives of migrants. EUROSUR 
aims  to  improve  the  situational  awareness  and  to  increase  the  reaction  capability  at  the 
external borders of the Member States3.  

EUROSUR  applies  to  the  surveillance  of  the  external  land and  sea  borders.  On  a  voluntary 
basis, it can be applied also to air border surveillance and to border checks at border crossing 
points.  The  surveillance  activities  of  EUROSUR  include  the  monitoring,  detection, 
identification, tracking, prevention and interception of unauthorised border crossings.  

EUROSUR does not apply to any legal or administrative measure taken once the responsible 
authorities  of  a  Member  State  have  intercepted  cross-border  criminal  activities  or 

1  
2  
3  

Regulation (EU) No 1052/2013. 
Regulation (EU) No 2016/1624. 
30  Member  States  are  applying  the  EUROSUR  Regulation,  i.e. 26  EU  Member  States  (without  UK  and 
Ireland) and the four Schengen associated Countries (Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein, and Switzerland).  

2 

 
 
                                                 
unauthorised crossings by persons at the external borders and in particular, it does not cover 
the aspects related to prosecution. 

The main components of EUROSUR are:  

  National  Coordination  Centres,  which  serve  in  each  Member  State  as  hubs  for 
interagency cooperation and information exchange in the area of border surveillance;  
  A  communication  network,  which  supports  the  information  exchange  within 
EUROSUR,  including  also  sensitive  and  EU  classified  information,  and  hosting  a 
videoconferencing service operated by the Agency;  

  The EUROSUR Fusion Services provided by the Agency, which supply the Member 
States and the Agency with surveillance services on the external borders and the pre-
frontier  area  based  on  a  combination  of  surveillance  activities  and  information 
sources,  such  as  satellite  imagery,  ship  reporting  services  and  weather  and 
environmental services;  

  Different  situational  pictures,  which  contain  information  on  events  and  patrolling 
assets as well as analytical information. Each Member State manages its own National 
Situational  Picture.  The  Agency  manages  the  European  Situational  Picture,  which  is 
covering  Member  States’  territory  as  well  as  the  Common  Pre-frontier  intelligence 
picture which is covering the area beyond the external borders.4 

The  Regulation  also  provides  for  an  enhanced  reaction  capability,  in  particular  through  the 
establishment of external border sections by the Member States. Based on a risk analysis and 
in agreement with the Member State concerned, the Agency attributes different impact levels 
(low,  medium,  high)  to  these  border  sections.  The  attributed  impact  levels  trigger 
corresponding response measures by the Member States and the Agency.  

The  Regulation  also  frames  the  information  exchange  and  cooperation  with  neighbouring 
third countries for the purpose of EUROSUR on issues such as the exchange of personal data, 
which is strictly limited by Regulation (EU) No 1052/2013. 

3.  THE EVALUATION OF EUROSUR 

3.1. Scope of the evaluation 

The  evaluation  covers  the  entire  scope  of  Regulation  (EU)  No  1052/2013,  focusing  on  its 
implementation by the Member States and by the Agency. In line with Article 22(2) of this 
Regulation and with the guidelines on better Regulation it includes an assessment of the:  

  Relevance of EUROSUR and of the continuing validity of its underlying rationale;  
  Effectiveness of EUROSUR through an assessment of the results achieved against the 

objectives set; 

  Efficiency of EUROSUR including a cost benefit evaluation; 

4  

In EUROSUR information is exchanged and distributed in a de-centralised manner by each Member State 
and the Agency. No personal data is exchanged via the EUROSUR communication network and only few 
Member States exchange personal data through their National Coordination Centres. 

3 

 
 
 
                                                 
  Coherence of EUROSUR with other policies and legal acts and 
  EU added value of the regulation through a subsidiarity check. 

The evaluation also includes an independent assessment by the Fundamental Rights Agency 
of the compliance with and impact on fundamental rights. 

3.2. State of play of implementation of EUROSUR  

EUROSUR encompasses both a governance framework and an information exchange system. 
Generally, the implementation of the EUROSUR framework took place as provided for in the 
Regulation: 

  All Member States have established their National Coordination Centre as a focal point 
for  border  surveillance  at  national  level,  usually  operating  on  24/7  basis.  Depending  on 
both the division of competencies and the geographical situation of the Member State, the 
National  Coordination  Centre  is  used  either  to  command  and  control  border  guards  or 
only as a "hub" for coordinating border surveillance activities. All National Coordination 
Centres cooperate and exchange information with the centres in other Member States and 
with  the  Agency  and  almost  all  of  them  with  other  national  authorities belonging to  the 
same  Member  State.  However,  several  Member  States  still  need  to  bring  their  centres 
fully  into  line  with  the  requirements  of  Regulation  (EU)  No  1052/2013,  as  identified 
during the Schengen Evaluation Mechanism. 

  All  Member  States  have  established  a  National  Situational  Picture  of  their  border 
situation,  sharing  border  incidents  (events  layer)  and  analytical  reports  (analysis  layer). 
However, currently only half of the Member States share nationally the positions of their 
patrolling  assets  through  the  operational  layer.  Half  of  the  Member  States  also  share 
information from their National Situational Picture with neighbouring Member States. 

  All Member States have defined their border sections to which the Agency has attributed 
and adapted impact levels in agreement with the Member States concerned. The Agency's 
support  for  border  sections  with  a  high  impact  level  has  been  provided  to  all  Member 
States concerned, such as Italy and Greece.  

  All  Member  States  have  reported  to  the  Commission  on  their  cooperation  with 
neighbouring  third  countries.  Such  cooperation  usually  takes  place  in  the  framework  of 
regional  cooperation  networks  or  via  bilateral  agreements.  As  part  of  the  evaluation, 
Member  States  shared  the  texts  of  selected  bilateral  agreements  concluded  with  third 
countries with the Commission.  

  The  Agency  is  delivering  currently  thirteen  EUROSUR  Fusion  Services.  These  services 
provide  high  added  value  information  services  to  all  National  Coordination  Centres  via 
the  EUROSUR  communication  network  and  directly  to  Joint  Operations  coordinated  by 
the  Agency.  These  services  are  used  to  support  border  operations,  to  detect  and analyse 
cross border criminal activities, such as smuggling of migrants, arms, drugs, cigarettes and 
other contraband, and to detect migrants in distress. They are also used to support Member 
States’ patrolling activities.  

The EUROSUR Fusion Services are the result of the daily cooperation of the Agency with 
the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA), the European Fisheries Control Agency 

4 

 
 
(EFCA)  and  the  EU  Satellite  Centre  and  they  have  been  expanded  with  the  financial 
support of the EU Space Programme COPERNICUS. A new service called Multipurpose 
Aerial Surveillance (M.A.S.) is currently being tested in the framework of the European 
Cooperation on Coast Guard Functions and of the tripartite working arrangement between 
EMSA, EFCA, and the Agency.  

  The EUROSUR communication network is being deployed and operated by the Agency. 
Since December 2013, more than 184 000 border related events have been reported to and 
exchanged via the European Situation Picture. In January 2018, the Agency has officially 
finalised the security accreditation of this network, enabling it to exchange EU Restricted 
information with the National Coordination Centres.  

With  a  view  to  making  the  information  exchange  more  user-friendly,  the  availability  of 
the network and its user interface still needs to be improved. This would allow Member 
States  to  make  faster  and  better  use  of  the  available  information.  And  while  there  is 
already a certain degree of heterogeneity in the information reported in EUROSUR, both 
on  the  type  of  incidents  as  well  as  on  the  time  periods  for  reporting  in  the  situational 
pictures,  the  use  of  the  available  information  for  analytical  purposes  could  still  be 
improved by allowing for more automated information management.  

  The EUROSUR communication network between the National Coordination Centres and 
the  Agency  has  been  deployed  along  with  another  information  system  managed  by  the 
Agency,  which  is  dedicated  to  the  Agency’s  Joint  Operations  Reporting  Application 
(JORA) performing similar functions. This redundancy has been a source of confusion for 
the  Member  States  and  impacted  negatively  on  the  quality  of  reporting  at  the  external 
borders. The situation is improving since the Agency is progressively merging JORA and 
the  EUROSUR  communication  network,  which  should,  in  the  mid-term,  become  one 
single tool. 

 

In  2015,  the  Commission  adopted  the  EUROSUR  Handbook5 containing  technical  and 
operational  guidelines,  recommendations  and  best  practices,  including  on  cooperation 
with third countries.  

3.3. Results of the evaluation  

3.3.1.  Relevance 

The  migratory  crisis,  in  particular  along  the  Western  Balkan  Route  in  2015/2016,  and  the 
terrorist attacks that took place in Europe are the two main crisis situations that the EU had to 
face since the adoption of EUROSUR. Both crisis situations clearly demonstrated the need to 
have  a  robust  and  comprehensive  information  exchange  and  cooperation  framework  for  the 
European Border and Coast Guard in place. EUROSUR should be further developed in this 
regard. 

EUROSUR is relevant to prevent irregular immigration and to fight cross border crime. Many 
examples  were reported  of  cases  where  the  information  exchanged  via  EUROSUR  with the 

5  

Commission  Recommendation  of  15.12.2015  adopting  the  Practical  handbook  for  implementing  and 
managing the European Border Surveillance System (EUROSUR Handbook) 

5 

 
 
                                                 
Agency  and  between  Member  States  prevented  cases  of  smuggling  of  drugs,  weapons, 
cigarettes  and  other  illicit  goods  as  well  as  of  human  beings  and  led  to  apprehending  the 
smugglers who were then brought to court.  

Examples of use of EUROSUR Fusion Services to fight cross border crime  
On  29  November  2014,  Hellenic  Coast  Guard  personnel,  exploiting  available  intelligence, 
detected  a  car  ferry  sailing  under  Tanzanian  flag,  carrying  9  trucks.  The  vessel  was 
extensively tracked through the EUROSUR Fusion Services for a long time period. Inside the 
trucks  a  notable  quantity  of  tobacco  was  found,  more  than 60  million  of  cigarettes,  without 
any legal possession documents. By that time, it was the second largest quantity that Hellenic 
Coast Guard ever seized, with a rough estimated value of 30 000 000 €. 

For  a  few  months  the  vessel  ‘Haddad  I’  (sailing  under  Bolivian  flag)  was 
identified  as  potentially  suspicious,  and  tracked  via  the  EUROSUR  Fusion 
Services.  In  September  2015,  following  unusual  behaviour  at  sea,  the  vessel 
was stopped and checked by Greek authorities. This operation resulted with the 
discovery  on  board  the  vessel  of  around  5,000  weapons  and  500,000  bullets, 
together with smuggled cigarettes; the vessel was bound for Libya. 

On 15 June 2017, the Hellenic Coast Guards (HCG) detained a 
cargo vessel (Golendri) with smuggled cigarettes and arrested 6 
smugglers. The use of the EUROSUR Fusion Services based on 
a HCG request complemented the monitoring of the smuggling 
vessel from Montenegro to Crete. 

In  July  2017  the  EUROSUR  Fusion  Services 
contributed  to  the  interception  of  the  cargo  vessel 
‘Falkvag’.  The  vessel  was  spotted  by  an  aerial 
asset  and  its  movements  were  monitored  by  the 
Agency. All information collected was delivered to 
the  Spanish  National  Coordination  Centre.  Six 
containers  of  smuggled  cigarettes  were  seized.  As 
it  was  stated  by  Spanish  media,  “this  was  the 
biggest  quantity  seized  in  the  history  of  Spanish 

customs”.  

In several cases EUROSUR contributed directly to saving hundreds of migrant's lives by first 
detecting  them  at  sea  and  triggering  the  Search  and  Rescue  mechanisms.  Indirectly 
EUROSUR  saved  many  more  lives  by  establishing  and  ensuring  the  cooperation  and 
information  exchange  between  the  border  and  coast  guards  working  in  the  National 
Coordination Centres and the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centres. 

6 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Examples of contributions of EUROSUR Fusion Services to saving g migrant lives 

In  October  2015,  the  Agency,  using  the  EUROSUR  Fusion  Services, 
detected unidentified objects at sea in the area close to the Libyan coast. 
The information has been swiftly forwarded to Italian authorities, which 
notified  the  EUNAVFOR  MED  flagship  present  in  the  area  leading to 
the rescue of migrants.  

In September 2016 the EUROSUR Fusion Services, using state-of-the-
art satellite radar technology, contributed to saving people in distress at 
sea  north  of  Morocco.  Spanish  authorities  were  notified  by  Moroccan 
officials of a boat lost in the area, but without an indication of the exact 
location. A satellite scan of the area requested by the Agency as part of 
EUROSUR Fusion Services pointed to an object at sea. The information 
was swiftly forwarded to Spanish authorities who launched a search and 
rescue  operation.  A  boat  with  35  migrants,  including  women  and 
children,  was  encountered  in  the  indicated  zone  and  the  people  were 
rescued by a French boat deployed in the Joint Operation Indalo.  

On 24  June 2017  two small rubber boats with 73  people on board  were detected by a Joint 
Operation Indalo 2017 asset performing a follow-up flight for vessel detection. The recently 
enhanced  EUROSUR  Fusion  Services  confirmed  the  boats’  position  north  of  the  North 
African  coast,  showing  its  capacity  to  detect  even  small  objects  (5  to  7m)  on  the  sea.  The 
people on the boats were rescued and brought to safety in the Spanish port of Motril.  

In October 2017, the new EUROSUR Fusion Service for Multi-purpose Aerial Surveillance 
contributed  to  Search  and  Rescue  Operations  involving  19  different  vessels  in  the 
Mediterranean Sea, which resulted in the rescue of approximately 716 migrants. In November 
2017, a total of 8 vessels were detected in the Central Mediterranean resulting in the rescue of 
approximately 314 migrants.  

3.3.2.  Effectiveness  

The EUROSUR framework is effective to promote information exchange and cooperation.  

The creation of the National Coordination Centres has brought added value by improving the 
interagency  cooperation  and  information  exchange  at  national  and  regional  levels,  with 
neighbouring  Member  States  and  with  the  Agency.  The  role  of  the  National  Coordination 
Centres could be further reinforced by ensuring a better coordination with local and regional 
border  management  levels,  and  could  cover  other  aspects  of  integrated  border  management 
such as the monitoring of secondary movements. 

7 

 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
Examples of EUROSUR contributing to improving reaction capabilities in Member States 
In Portugal EUROSUR lead to establishing direct communication lines between the National 
Command and Control Centre that operates the National Surveillance System (SIVICC), the 
Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (Navy-Maritime Authority) and the Air Command (Air 
Force). This step increased the capability to react to crisis situations in a very significant way. 

In Switzerland, International cargo trains crossing the country may have irregular migrants 
on-board. Information on these trains from neighbouring Member States’ National 
Coordination Centres helped saving migrants from hypothermia and serious injuries on these 
trains.  

To  the  left:  In  the  Italian  National  Coordination 
Centre  State  Police,  Carabinieri,  Coast  Guard, 
Guardia  di  Finanza,  the  Navy  and  Customs  work 
side-by-side. 

Below:  The  Spanish  National  Coordination  Centre 
reports in EUROSUR the interception of a speedboat 
smuggling drugs. 

The quality of information shared between the Agency and Member States via the European 
Situational Picture could be improved. As already mentioned above, the different information 
systems used by the Agency, such as the Joint Operations Reporting Application (JORA) and 
the  EUROSUR  communication  network  should  be  merged.  Automation  and  user  uptake 
should be improved using state of the art technology. The Agency should monitor and, if need 
be, also enforce the quality of service and information shared in EUROSUR.  

Overall,  to  be  more  effective,  EUROSUR  should  evolve  from  a  system  to  a  more  general 
governance framework for information exchange and cooperation.  

3.3.3.  Efficiency  

The  costs  for  implementing  EUROSUR  which  are  supported  by  national  budgets,  by  EU 
funding instruments and by the Agency are estimated to amount to around M€130 ; they are 
well  within  the  M€  208  estimated  in  the  impact  assessment  accompanying  the  EUROSUR 
legislative proposal6 in 2011.  

6  

COM(2011) 873 final. 

8 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
The EU provides financial support  to Member States for  the implementation of  EUROSUR 
via the External Borders Fund (EBF) covering the period 2007-2013 and the Internal Security 
Fund  (ISF)/  Borders  and  Visa  of  the  current  Multiannual  Financial  Framework  both  under 
shared  and  direct  management.  These  instruments  undergo  specific  evaluations  of  their 
implementation.  

EUROSUR  created limited administrative burden. One source  for the administrative burden 
pointed  out  by  the  stakeholders  consulted  is  the  manual  intervention  for  the  exchange  of 
information.  

According to the stakeholders the advantages of improving situational awareness and reaction 
capabilities  brought  by  EUROSUR  overweigh  the  costs  linked  to  the  EUROSUR 
implementation:  EUROSUR  contributed  to  enforcing  synergies  at  European  level,  hence 
limiting costs at national level. 

3.3.4.  Coherence  

EUROSUR  fosters  synergies  and  thus  coherence  with  other  policies:  the  National 
Coordination  Centre  is  a  focal  point  for  operational  cooperation  with  other  policy  actors  in 
areas  such  as  maritime  affairs,  security  and  customs  control.  It  is  also  a  good  example  for 
civil/military cooperation as several National Coordination Centres are hosting also  military 
actors such as Navy officers. 

At EU level the EUROSUR Fusion Services is a tool which can be used for other coast guard 
functions such as fisheries control. There are also mutual benefits for external security as for 
instance EUROSUR information  products have been shared via the  Agency with the CSDP 
operation EUNAVFOR Med Sophia.  

The  EUROSUR  Fusion  Services  are  also  a  tool  to  operationalise  research  projects  and 
programs and are a concrete outcome of the EU Space Programme Copernicus. 

EUROSUR should be amended to adapt to the novelties introduced by the EBCG Regulation 
and  to  reflect  both  the  new  mandate  of  the  Agency  and  the  implementation  of  the  EU 
Integrated Border Management.  

3.3.5.  EU added value 

The  EU  added  value  of  EUROSUR  is  fully  acknowledged  by  the  EU  border  management 
community.  Removing  the  EUROSUR  framework  is  not  conceivable  since  most  Member 
States now depend on it for border surveillance.  

The EUROSUR Fusion Services bring a real added value to the end users involved in border 
surveillance.  No  national  border  guard  organisation  alone  could  afford  the  space  based 
surveillance  services  and  other  long  range  platforms  offered  by  the  EUROSUR  Fusion 
Services.  

9 

 
 
3.4. Compliance with and impact on fundamental rights  

The Fundamental Right Agency (FRA) evaluated EUROSUR. In its report7, FRA concludes 
that  EUROSUR  is  compliant  both  with  fundamental  rights  and  data  protection  principles 
while suggesting several possible improvements.  

3.4.1.  Third Countries and Non-Refoulement  

FRA has paid particular attention at the issue of non-refoulement when cooperating with third 
countries on border management, and did not detect any non-compliance: 

The  majority  of  the  20  Member  States,  which  concluded  bilateral  agreements  with  third 
countries  in  the  area  of  border  surveillance,  use  a  general  assessment  of  the  fundamental 
rights’  situation  in  third  countries  while  11  Member  States  incorporated  fundamental  rights 
safeguard clauses in their agreements.  

FRA  has  reviewed  seven  randomly  selected  bilateral  agreements,  none  of  which  contained 
provisions contradicting the fundamental rights provisions enshrined in the EU Charter and in 
Recital  (15) and Article 2 (4) of Regulation  (EU)  No  1052/2013.  In particular, according to 
FRA's evaluation most agreement include a general reference stating that the agreement must 
be  implemented  in  accordance  with  the  Parties'  international  obligations  and  could  be 
clarified  with  an  express  safeguards 
to  promote  a  fundamental  rights  compatible 
implementation.  

3.4.2.  Handling of personal data  

Overall,  personal  data  are  properly  handled  within  EUROSUR  through  proper  training  and 
guidance in the EUROSUR Handbook.  

Except  for  ship  identification  numbers,  no  personal  data  is  exchanged  between  the  Agency 
and the Member  States  in the  context of EUROSUR. Only 6  Member States are processing 
personal data in the context of their national implementation of EUROSUR. 

3.4.3.  Suggested improvements  

In its report, FRA suggested several possible evolutions of EUROSUR such as the inclusion 
of  specific  clauses  according  to  which  the  agreement  must  be  applied  in  accordance  with 
fundamental rights, in full respect of the principle of non-refoulement and reflecting the core 
data protection safeguards in future agreements with third countries. As a possible alternative 
it suggested the development of technical and procedural solutions to better document events 
linked  to  Search  and  Rescue,  and  events  involving  vulnerable  groups  of  persons  such  as 
children. FRA considers that this may mitigate the risk of human rights violations. 

7 

Fundamental  Rights  Agency:  How 
http://fra.europa.eu/en/publication/2018/evaluation-impact-eurosur-fundamental-rights  

the  Eurosur  Regulation 

affects 

fundamental 

rights, 

10 

 
 
                                                 
4.  ISSUES WARRANTING FURTHER ATTENTION 

The following improvements may be achieved by the planned amendment to the EUROSUR 
Regulation. 

4.1. Improving the functioning of EUROSUR 

From  a  system,  EUROSUR  should  evolve  into  a  governance  framework  fostering 
information  exchange  and  cooperation  at  national,  regional  and  EU  level  and  with  third 
parties. 

4.1.1.  Reinforcing the competences of the National Coordination Centres 

The establishment of the National Coordination Centres (NCC) in the Member States is one 
of the biggest achievements of the EUROSUR Regulation. When several national authorities 
are  involved  in  border  control,  the  National  Coordination  Centre  is  often  used  as  a 
"platform"  to  foster  interagency  cooperation  among  several  organizations  belonging  to 
different ministries.  

The  National  Coordination  Centre  has  also  helped  structuring  interagency  cooperation 
beyond  and  above  the  national  level,  and  fostering  bi-  and  multilateral  cooperation  in  the 
area of border surveillance. The National Coordination Centre model is now being exported 
to third countries enabling the development of regional cooperation networks.  

Any further development of EUROSUR with a view to promote Integrated European Border 
Management should take into account the variety of administrative structures and cultures in 
the Member States. Reinforcing and clarifying the role and the competences of the National 
Coordination  Centre  would  allow  to  maintain  a  necessary  degree  of  flexibility  in  the 
implementation while increasing information exchange and cooperation.  

4.1.2.  Improving the governance of EUROSUR 

The EUROSUR Regulation should better define the roles and responsibilities of the various 
actors so as to improve information exchange and build trust among the stakeholders.  

For instance, the reporting of events and the delivery of information services in EUROSUR 
should be clarified more in detail, in particular in defining which are the responsible entities 
as  well  as  who  has  the  ownership  of  information  and  what  is  the  time-frame  to  report 
incidents.  

Standards  should  be  established  to  converge  the  reporting  procedures,  the  type  of  events 
reported and the technical interfaces to foster machine to machine connection. An automated 
mechanism should be set up to control and enforce the quality of the information exchanged 
within EUROSUR. 

4.1.3.  Reducing technical requirements  

The  rapid  development  of  technology  is  an  enabler  which  also  allows  for  new  and  more 
efficient implementation of information exchange solutions. 

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While it was crucial to provide strict technical requirements, for instance on the structure of 
the  situational  pictures,  to  set  up  EUROSUR  within  a  very  short  time,  these  requirements 
can  quickly  turn  into  an  obstacle  for  fast  and  efficient  information  exchange  and  thereby 
hinder further improvements. 

For example, in addition to the exchange of information between the national and EU level 
described  in  the  EUROSUR  Regulation,  tactical  and  operational  information  could  be 
exchanged faster at local level between Member States on a bi- or multilateral basis in the 
"global" framework of EUROSUR.  

The  same  also  applies  to  the  information  exchange  within  Joint  Operations  through  the 
Agency's JORA system, which is also a primary source to feed information to EUROSUR. 

4.1.4.  Capitalizing on the EUROSUR Fusion Services 

The EUROSUR Fusion Services are a toolbox of information services generated via a strong 
interagency  cooperation  at  EU  level.  There  is  a  general  agreement  that  this  mechanism 
brings a real EU added value to border management operations.  

With  the  evolution  of  border  surveillance,  new  tools  are  being  developed  such  as  the 
Multipurpose Aerial Surveillance. EUROSUR should allow a rapid deployment of such new 
Services while ensuring that Fundamental Rights and data protection requirements are met.  

4.2.  Enlarging the scope of EUROSUR 

Based  upon  the  lessons  learned  and  the  success  of  EUROSUR  as  a  legal  framework  for 
information  exchange  and  cooperation  between  the  Member  States  and  the  Agency,  the 
scope of the Regulation could be progressively enlarged to address several aspects of border 
management. 

4.2.1.  Inclusion of border checks at border crossing points 

As  foreseen  in  Article  2.2  of  Regulation  (EU)  No  1052/2013,  information  related  to  the 
checks  at  border  crossing  points  and  to  the  surveillance  of  air  borders  is  provided  by  a 
considerable number of Member States on a voluntary basis. In the current situation many 
incidents happening at those borders may "escape" the European situational picture as they 
are not reported by all Member States. 

It is therefore necessary to include incidents at border crossing points on a systematic basis.  

4.2.2.  Air border surveillance  

Besides  the  issues  of  the  airports,  which  are  addressed  above,  the  question  of  the 
surveillance  of  air  borders  deserves  specific  attention.  New  criminal  activities  are  being 
reported using small aircraft, including Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems for smuggling of 
drugs  and  cigarettes.  Both  technical  and  organisational  solutions  could  be  addressed  in  a 
further development of the EUROSUR Framework. 

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4.2.3.  Cooperation with neighbouring third countries  

Exchanging  information  and  closer  cooperation  with  neighbouring  third  countries  is 
essential for managing migration flows and preventing crime at the external borders. 

Articles 54 and 55 of the EBCG Regulation offer new and further reaching possibilities to 
the Agency in this regard than Article 20 of the EUROSUR Regulation.  

There is a  need to  improve the  coherence of the framework  for information exchange and 
cooperation with third countries in the two regulations so as to avoid overlaps and to ensure 
complementarity with other legislative acts such as the ILO Regulation8. 

4.2.4.  EUROSUR and Integrated Border Management  

The  EBCG  Regulation  defines  the  European  Integrated  Border  Management  (IBM)  as  a 
shared responsibility between the Member States and the EBCG Agency. To this end, there is 
no general common framework for IBM for the exchange of information and cooperation. 

EUROSUR  has  successfully  implemented  such  a  framework  in  the  area  of  border 
surveillance.  The  opportunity  to  expand  the  concept  of  a  common  framework  of  Integrated 
Border Management should be considered including the monitoring of secondary movements. 

5.  CONCLUSIONS AND FOLLOW UP 

In  the  light  of  the  findings  of  the  evaluation  SWD(2018)  410  and  of  the  discussions  with 
Member States’ and the Agency’s experts, the Commission draws the following conclusions: 

While the EUROSUR Framework has registered progress towards meeting its objectives, its 
functioning  could  be  improved  by  evolving  from  a  technical  information  system  into  a 
governance  framework  for  information  exchange  and  cooperation,  covering  border  control 
and possibly also other selected components of European Integrated Border Management. 

Follow up: 

In  line  with  Article  22(3)  of  the  EUROSUR  Regulation,  the  Commission  is  therefore 
accompanying  this  report  on  the  evaluation  of  EUROSUR  with  a  proposal  to  amend  the 
EUROSUR Regulation and to encompass EUROSUR in the proposal amending the European 
Border and Coast Guard Regulation. 

8  

Council  Regulation  (EC)  No  377/2004  of  19  February  2004  on  the  creation  of  an  immigration  liaison 
officers network 

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