Introduction

• Author: Frontex (EU body or agency)
• Pages: 8-10

8 of 90

Introduction

Strengthenin g the European Union (EU) , upholding it s values and promo ting

them globally, relies, inter alia, on the credible provis ion of safety an d security

to European citizen s. Despite a glo bal situation in w hich the dynamic s of the

internation al security e nvironment have s een a shift , the ultimate go al is to

sustain a safe a nd secure area of fre edom, secur ity and just ice. Realisatio n of

this aim implies being able to tackle geopolitical instability generating conf‌licts,

migration and t he threat of serious orga nised crime with cros s-border dimensions

as we ll as te rroris m. Fur therm ore, re adines s to res pond to e xisti ng and e mergin g

challenging situ ations at the borders indu ced by other factors, e .g. demography,

economy and environment¹ is required.

At the nexus, t he European Border and Coa st Guard (EBCG) has been est ablished

to ens ure int egrat ed bor der man agemen t of th e exte rnal b orders to enab le a sin gle

area without border checks – the Schengen Area. Member States and Schengen

Associate d Countries (MS/SAC) have th e main responsibilit y for the management

of the ir sec tions o f the ex terna l borde rs. In this con text , eec tive ex tern al bord er

control is a tool for m igration managemen t and a crucial component f or internal

security. At th e same time, it preser ves free movement and safe ty of persons as

central value s of the EU. Safety and securit y are thus fostered by adequate and

operational ly available border and coast gu ard capabilities. Safet y and security

are furthe r enhanced by collaboratio n with other EU institutio ns, and agencies,

national border and migration management authorities, law enforcement at home

within the Sc hengen Area and EU polic y instruments a broad. In addition, th ey are

strengthened through partnerships with Third Countries. This collective eort

constitutes European Integrated Border Management (EIBM). It is underpinned

by legislation, policies and their implementation at national and European level

(Figure 1).

1 Crisis driven by e.g. geological incidents (avalanches, volcanic eruptions and earthquakes),

hydrological (f‌loods, tsunami and limnic eruptions), meteorological incidents (blizzards, cyclonic

storms, dr oughts, hail s torms, heat wav es and tornados), wi ld f‌ires and healt h epidemics.