Council adopted the EU border management strategy on 5 December

Today, on Tuesday 5 December, the EU Justice and Home Affairs Council, chaired by Finnish Minister of the Interior Kari Rajamäki, adopted the strategic conclusions on integrated border management, namely the border management strategy initiated by Finland. With the enlargement of the Schengen area in the near future, the area of free movement will cover 23 States, including Norway and Iceland. As the level of border control in individual Member States has an impact on the whole Schengen area, it is necessary to constantly improve integrated border management in the EU.

The Council conclusions provide an up-to-date definition of 'integrated border management'. According to this definition, the most essential part of integrated border management is border control as referred to in the Regulation concerning the movement of persons across borders (the Schengen Borders Code). In addition, border management consists of measures in third countries and the EU's neighbouring countries, and control measures in the territories of the Member States. The conclusions also specify the most urgent development measures to be taken by the European Borders Agency, Frontex. These measures include an effective implementation of joint operations and regional cooperation arrangements and the further development of the common risk analysis system, particularly at operational level. The conclusions also draw attention to the specific situation in the Mediterranean region and ask that joint operational measures be taken in the region as soon as possible.

In the conclusions, the Member States commit themselves to strengthening cooperation between police, customs and border guard authorities in line with the relevant Finnish model. The conclusions also stress the importance of information exchange and smooth border traffic. In addition, the Member States are requested to take an active role in developing joint operations, for example by dealing efficiently with the relevant EU legislative initiative, allocating resources to joint operations and continuing coordinated consular cooperation.

In its conclusions, the Council states that it is necessary to maintain and develop the Schengen evaluation system. Experts from all Member States should evaluate, even critically if necessary, the border management system of a Member State in accordance with the evaluation system. The Council also calls on the Commission to draw up a proposal describing how to develop evaluations and enable unannounced inspections.

Finland has gained considerable practical experience of border control over the years. Against this background, Finland has contributed significantly to the development of the common risk analysis system in the EU. The aim of the risk analysis system is to provide a realistic picture of the border situation and to target controls appropriately on the basis of up-to-date criminal intelligence. These requirements are essential in terms of individual States and the whole Schengen area. The conclusions also call for the strengthening of risk analysis at operational and tactical levels. At the meeting, participants were given a non-technical risk analysis model which was recently produced by the Border and Coast Guard Academy of Finland.

For further information, please contact Commodore Jukka Savolainen, tel. +358 20 410 6654, or Counsellor Markku Hassinen, tel. +32 2 2878 527, +32 478 887 463