The final creation of a European Coast Guard has moved one step closer to reality after MEPs voted in favour of the regulations required to create a pool of deployable personnel drawn from European Union member states.
Under the plans the EU’s Frontex border agency and national border authorities would be brought together. While national authorities would, according to a statement released by the EU, ‘still manage their borders on a day-to-day basis’ they would be able to seek help from the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (EBCG) ‘if there external EU borders were under pressure’.
Border guard teams