MEPs will have their say on measures to beef up external border security and so protect the Schengen area.

Pace picks up for new European border agency

https://api.multimedia.europarl.europa.eu/documents/20125/11608633/n005-160705-001-enx.srt

Europe’s new external border  control system,

part of its response to the influx of refugees  and migrants on its southern flank,

is taking shape, including an element  vital to securing EU external borders

and protecting the Schengen zone:  the European Border and Coast Guard.

At the heart of it is strengthening  the existing border agency Frontex,

allowing States  whose borders come under pressure

to call in rapidly deployable,  multi-national support teams.

The agency is to have 1,500 coast guards  who can be deployed instantly

It is also designed to be able  to quickly acquire resources

so that it can act efficiently  and respond to emergencies.

Member states will still manage  their external borders day to day,

but if they refuse to accept support in  extreme cases it can be forced on them.

The agency will also have a greater role in  returning migrants to their home countries,

but as executors of  decisions by Member States.

It’s hoped the agency will start in September  2016 and be fully functional by November,

the speed of its establishment  a measure of the EU’s urgency