According to an official press statement, the financing is expected to support investments in Member States and non-EU countries participating in the Schengen Treaty, particularly those most vulnerable to recently increased migratory pressures.
“The proposed allocation is a concrete example of EU solidarity in action, and will help in terms of enhancing border security and visa management,” said Home Affairs commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom.
The money will be distributed to Member States and associated countries to improve the security at the EU’s external borders.
The amount allocated to national programmes ( euro 321.9 million) will increase by 35 % compared to 2011. The rest will go to transnational actions and actions of interest to the EU ( euro 22.2 million), specific actions at specific border sections ( euro 10 million) and the special transit scheme for Russian citizens travelling to Kaliningrad through Lithuania ( euro 16 million).
Distribution among the countries is decided by the Commission and based on factual criteria and assessment of the risks with the controls of the common external border (taking into special consideration the recent events in the Mediterranean region that have prompted large waves of emigrants to leave the region).
Italy will therefore become the largest beneficiary of the enlarged funds, with a euro 20 million net increase.
Malta, Cyprus, Spain, Greece and France will also benefit from “a substantial increase” in their respective allocations.
Five key areas for investment
For 2012, the Commission identifies five main areas where significant investments should benefit from support by the Fund:
The External Borders Fund is one of the four financial instruments under DG Home Affairs’ Programme on ‘Solidarity and Management of Migration Flows’. It provides a mechanism for financial solidarity with those Member States most exposed to immigration.
Schengen Associated States (Norway, Iceland, Switzerland and Liechtenstein) have been participating in the External Borders Fund since 2010. The United Kingdom and Ireland do not participate in the Fund.
Shortcomings in forward planning?
In response, Peter Forrest – the managing director of DPM Systems, the national border security specialist – commented: “Investment in EU border control cannot be considered as anything but positive, but it does highlight the shortcomings in the EU’s forward planning.”
He continued: “Rather than dedicating investment to solving an emigration problem that is already manifesting itself and will have tailed off by the time the planned measures are implemented, an emergency fund should have been established to finance immediate support when Member States’ borders are under pressure from illegal immigrants.”
Forrest added: “Notwithstanding this reservation, there are still some important questions regarding this injection of funding that need to be met head on – not least of which is the ever-present need to ensure that consultants and eventual suppliers are routinely challenged to provide and evidence value for money.”
He went on to state: “We have seen on multiple occasions in the UK public sector that large projects, especially in IT, can quickly exceed budgets and timescales due to insufficient scrutiny over the parties involved both before and during the execution of the project. The same potential problem exists with the EU – there is a critical need to ensure and exercise transparency of each stage of investment and project progress in order to make certain that this border security undertaking does not end up being a white elephant.”
