The EU on Friday formally established its first standalone border force, boosting the Frontex service with a new permanent corps that will number 10,000 officers by 2027.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/european-union-singapore-trade-deal-takes-effect-on-november-21-260881">The adoption by EU</a> member states means Frontex,&nbsp;the border and coast guard agency for the bloc's Schengen area,&nbsp;will have personnel wearing its uniform and on its payroll who can be deployed to the EU's external borders to handle crises or general management.

Frontex currently has up to 1,500 officers active at any time but they are seconded to the agency by member states for short missions, along with ships and aircraft.

The EU regulation adopted Friday also expands the agency's mandate, which "will allow Frontex to play a bigger role in supporting member states in border control, on returns and in cooperating with third countries," said Maria Ohisalo, interior minister of Finland, which presently holds the EU's rotating presidency.

'First uniformed service'

Frontex, whose headquarters is in Poland's capital Warsaw, has been called on to handle numerous migration situations, most notably in 2015 when a million asylum-seekers entered the EU, many of them Syrians fleeing war.

While the number of migrants has fallen under a 2016 deal done with neighbouring Turkey, threats from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to "open the gates" once more have raised alarm in <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/european-union-concerned-by-iran-nuclear-enrichment-announcement-260166">EU capitals</a>.

Frontex says its new corps will be "Europe's first uniformed service",&nbsp;a boast affirming the EU's goal to build integrated security institutions to match its economic and political heft.&nbsp;

Last month, it launched its first recruitment drive for more than 700 border guards who will be operational in January 2021.

"The agency will provide support at the request of the member state concerned or on its own initiative and in agreement with the member state concerned," the European Council said in a statement.

The Schengen area comprises 22 of the EU's 28 member states, with four more,&nbsp;Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus and Romania,&nbsp;due to be included in the future. Two EU countries have opt-outs from the area: Ireland and Brexit-bound Britain.

Another four <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/european-union-top-court-rules-poland-broke-rule-of-law-with-judicial-reforms-260119">European countries</a> outside the EU but with close relations with it,&nbsp;Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland,&nbsp;are also part of the Schengen area.

Frontex's budget has swelled steadily in the 14 years of its existence and will jump 26 per cent from this year to next to stand at 421 million euros ($464 million).

The EU on Friday formally established its first standalone border force, boosting the Frontex service with a new permanent corps that will number 10,000 officers by 2027.

The EU on Friday formally established its first standalone border force, boosting the Frontex service with a new permanent corps that will number 10,000 officers by 2027. The adoption by EU member states means Frontex, the border and coast guard agency for the bloc's Schengen area, will have personnel wearing its uniform and on its payroll who can be deployed to the EU's external borders to handle crises or general management. Frontex currently has up to 1,500 officers active at any time but they are seconded to the agency by member states for short missions, along with ships and aircraft. The EU regulation adopted Friday also expands the agency's mandate, which "will allow Frontex to play a bigger role in supporting member states in border control, on returns and in cooperating with third countries," said Maria Ohisalo, interior minister of Finland, which presently holds the EU's rotating presidency. 'First uniformed service' Frontex, whose headquarters is in Poland's capital Warsaw, has been called on to handle numerous migration situations, most notably in 2015 when a million asylum-seekers entered the EU, many of them Syrians fleeing war. While the number of migrants has fallen under a 2016 deal done with neighbouring Turkey, threats from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to "open the gates" once more have raised alarm in EU capitals. Frontex says its new corps will be "Europe's first uniformed service", a boast affirming the EU's goal to build integrated security institutions to match its economic and political heft. Last month, it launched its first recruitment drive for more than 700 border guards who will be operational in January 2021. "The agency will provide support at the request of the member state concerned or on its own initiative and in agreement with the member state concerned," the European Council said in a statement. The Schengen area comprises 22 of the EU's 28 member states, with four more, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus and Romania, due to be included in the future. Two EU countries have opt-outs from the area: Ireland and Brexit-bound Britain. Another four European countries outside the EU but with close relations with it, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland, are also part of the Schengen area. Frontex's budget has swelled steadily in the 14 years of its existence and will jump 26 per cent from this year to next to stand at 421 million euros ($464 million).

European Union establishes standalone border force to boost Frontex service

The number of illegal migrants entering Europe has fallen since April after the European Union sealed a deal with Turkey to halt flows across the Aegean Sea, the border agency said, and Italy has become the new frontline for refugees, mostly from Libya. 
 
&quot;For the first six months of 2016, there were 360,000 illegal entries in the EU, which is higher than what we saw last year, but the influx has been diminishing since April,&quot; Fabrice Leggeri, executive director of Frontex, the agency in charge of protecting the bloc&#39;s external borders, told Europe 1 Radio. 
 
Leggeri said Italy had overtaken Greece as the primary point of entry and most migrants were now embarking for Europe in Libya. About 750 were arriving in Italy daily compared with about 50 in Greece. 
 
&quot;So the new frontline is Italy,&quot; he said. 
 
In all of 2015, Frontex recorded more than 1.5 million irregular border crossings into Europe, mostly to Greece before marching north to Germany and Sweden, fleeing war and poverty in the Middle East, North Africa and elsewhere. 
 
A Frontex spokesman said the EU-Turkey deal, under which Turkey agreed to halt illegal migration through its territory in return for financial and political rewards, and the closure of the Greece-Macedonia border earlier this year, were the two main reasons behind the declining figures. 
 
Leggeri was speaking ahead of a news conference on plans for the agency&#39;s future later on Tuesday. 
 
Most of those arriving in Italy were from sub-Saharan Africa, he said. 
 
A humanitarian group said it had recovered the bodies of four migrants and rescued around 400 survivors on Tuesday from an overcrowded wooden boat in the Mediterranean en route to Italy from Libya. The dead suffocated below deck, the Malta-based Migrant Offshore Aid Station, whose rescue ship carried out the operation, said on Twitter. 
 
The EU is preparing to rename Frontex, based in Warsaw, the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, with a two-fold increase in staff and funding worth 322 million euros by 2020. 
 
Border protection would remain a national responsibility and the agency will continue to rely on EU capitals for contributions to a proposed pool of 1,500 border guards ready for quick deployment to any crisis spot. 
 
(Reuters)

The EU-Turkey deal and the closure of Greece-Macedonian border are the two main reasons for declining figures

The number of illegal migrants entering Europe has fallen since April after the European Union sealed a deal with Turkey to halt flows across the Aegean Sea, the border agency said, and Italy has become the new frontline for refugees, mostly from Libya. "For the first six months of 2016, there were 360,000 illegal entries in the EU, which is higher than what we saw last year, but the influx has been diminishing since April," Fabrice Leggeri, executive director of Frontex, the agency in charge of protecting the bloc's external borders, told Europe 1 Radio. Leggeri said Italy had overtaken Greece as the primary point of entry and most migrants were now embarking for Europe in Libya. About 750 were arriving in Italy daily compared with about 50 in Greece. "So the new frontline is Italy," he said. In all of 2015, Frontex recorded more than 1.5 million irregular border crossings into Europe, mostly to Greece before marching north to Germany and Sweden, fleeing war and poverty in the Middle East, North Africa and elsewhere. A Frontex spokesman said the EU-Turkey deal, under which Turkey agreed to halt illegal migration through its territory in return for financial and political rewards, and the closure of the Greece-Macedonia border earlier this year, were the two main reasons behind the declining figures. Leggeri was speaking ahead of a news conference on plans for the agency's future later on Tuesday. Most of those arriving in Italy were from sub-Saharan Africa, he said. A humanitarian group said it had recovered the bodies of four migrants and rescued around 400 survivors on Tuesday from an overcrowded wooden boat in the Mediterranean en route to Italy from Libya. The dead suffocated below deck, the Malta-based Migrant Offshore Aid Station, whose rescue ship carried out the operation, said on Twitter. The EU is preparing to rename Frontex, based in Warsaw, the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, with a two-fold increase in staff and funding worth 322 million euros by 2020. Border protection would remain a national responsibility and the agency will continue to rely on EU capitals for contributions to a proposed pool of 1,500 border guards ready for quick deployment to any crisis spot. (Reuters)

EU migrant influx descreasing since April says border agency

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