If approved by governments, a new European Border and Coast Guard will replace the EU’s Frontex agency and have expanded powers, including the new standby force.
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The vice president says he fears that passport free travel within the so-called Schengen Area will now be under threat because of the situation.
Germany and other countries in the zone have in the last few weeks reintroduced temporary border controls to cope with the migrant crisis.
On top of the full-time personnel, European nation involved in scheme will be expected to provide border guards to the 1,500 rapid reaction force.
Amnesty has also documented how people who attempted for example to cross the Greek, Bulgarian and Spanish land borders were pushed back by border authorities without access to asylum procedures or a chance to appeal their return, in direct breach of global law.
EU Commission President Jean Claude Juncker on Wednesday said that, “in the past we called on Italy and Greece to improve registration procedures and the activity of hotspots”.
The newEuropean Border and Coast Guardwill have the right to intervene – under a decision of the Commission – by deploying its teams in cases “where deficiencies persist or where a Member State is under significant migratory pressure putting in peril theSchengenarea and national action is not forthcoming or not enough”. This has been jeopardised by the influx of migrants from war-torn Syria, which has contributed to the 1.5million illegal border crossings since the beginning of the year and led to Germany, Austria and Sweden reinstating frontier controls.
He added that member states would continue to exercise day-to-day border management.
“We Europeans no longer have many borders”.
As non-Schengen members, Ireland and Britain are not obliged to participate in the new agency, though both countries have participated in Frontex.
The plan for an European Union border agency seeks to contain Europe’s free flowing asylum seeker phenomenon by centralising power in Brussels – a bone of contention for a large number of MEPs.
The proposed new border agency would “oversee the effective function of border control”, carrying out a “supervisory role”.
But other countries are less pleased by the idea of an agency with mandatory powers.
Turkish foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said the opening of the first new section for two years was “quite symbolic” and would help tackle issues such as migration and terrorism.
Announcing details of the plan, EU migration commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos said the migration and security challenges facing the European Union “know no borders and require a truly European approach”.
The United Kingdom was not bound by the plan for the new European Border and Coast Guard, because it was not in the 26-country Schengen zone. It includes all European Union member states except Britain, Croatia, Cyprus, Ireland, Romania and Bulgaria.
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Timmermans said it was wrong to lump together refugees and terrorists, but argued that more effective border controls were important for the security of all. More checks will also be required against existing databases.
