On 07 December, Frontex, the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, published a press release informing that it will be able to deploy as many as 1 500 border guards at short notice to assist member states in emergency situations at their EU’s external borders.
The creation of the rapid reaction pool is the first active step in the development of the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, which was launched in October.
The rapid reaction pool comprises of 1 500 officers committed by EU member states and Schengen associated countries. In case of a crisis situation, they can be deployed within five working days.
Fabrice Leggeri, Frontex Executive Director mentioned “today we have gained a powerful tool that will allow Frontex to assist member states and together deal with emergencies at EU's external borders much more quickly and efficiently. We continue to move forward with the development of a truly European Border and Coast Guard Agency that will no longer face shortages of staff or equipment in its operations.”
Frontex currently has some 1 200 deployed at EU’s external borders to assist member states with tasks such as border surveillance, registration and identification of migrants. The full press release is available here.