This is a big step forward in an attempt to control entry into the EU, since the new structure will be in charge of all ground, sea and air control services, as well as surveillance means. The service will help EU countries train border guards, but the creation of a single European border service is not planned due to objections from Britain and other states.
The governments of EU member states are already wary of handing over to Brussels powers in such important matters as law enforcement, race relations and national security. In October, they rejected plans that, they feared, would lead the European Commission to set quotas for legal immigration, and accelerated work on repatriation agreements with African and Asian countries.
Although Britain is not part of the Schengen zone, it supports the idea of creating a service that is also intended to coordinate the "expulsion of third-country nationals illegally residing in the EU".
Among the proposals being discussed by EU interior ministers is drawing up lists of safe countries to which illegal immigrants and rejected asylum seekers can be returned.
The Commission went out of its way to stress that staff of the new European agency for the protection of the EU's external borders will not have law enforcement powers in EU countries, and that the service will not carry out border control on its own. But the measure shows that the fight against illegal immigration is becoming a priority, particularly in Italy and Spain, which are struggling to cope with an influx of illegal migrants from the Balkans and North Africa. Just last week, the EU reached an agreement under which Albania will take back immigrants who entered through its territory.
Today, action is becoming more energetic, as eight Eastern European countries joining the EU in May next year will need to strengthen border controls as they become the EU's front line in the fight against immigration from the east and south. Catching illegal immigrants once they are already in the EU is much more difficult, especially if they enter countries such as Britain, where there are still no compulsory identity cards, making the verification system less effective.
The new service, which is due to start work in 2005, will initially consist of 30 staff and have a budget of 6 million euros.