Decision 2010/252 - 2010/252/: Council Decision of 26 April 2010 supplementing the Schengen Borders Code as regards the surveillance of the sea external borders in the context of operational cooperation coordinated by the European Agency for the Management of Operational Cooperation at the External Borders of the Member States of the EU - Main contents

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 111/20

The purpose of border surveillance is to prevent unauthorised border crossings, to counter cross-border criminality and to apprehend or take other measures against persons who have crossed the border illegally. Border surveillance should be effective in preventing and discouraging persons from circumventing the checks at border crossing points, and in detecting the unauthorised crossing of the external borders.

The European Agency for the Management of Operational Cooperation at the External Borders of the Member States of the European Union (hereinafter referred to as ‘the Agency’) is responsible for the coordination of operational cooperation between Member States to facilitate the application of Union law, including with regard to border surveillance. Additional rules are necessary with regard to border surveillance activities carried out by maritime and aerial units of one Member State at the sea border of other Member States in the context of the operational cooperation coordinated by the Agency and the further strengthening of such cooperation.

In accordance with Regulation (EC) No 562/2006 and general principles of Union law, measures taken in the course of the surveillance operation should be proportionate to the objectives pursued and fully respect fundamental rights and the rights of refugees and asylum seekers, including, in particular, the prohibition of refoulement. Member States are bound by the provisions of the asylum acquis, and in particular of Council Directive 2005/85/EC of 1 December 2005 on minimum standards on procedures in Member States for granting and withdrawing refugee status (2), with regard to applications for asylum made in the territory, including at the border, or in the transit zones of Member States.

At its meetings of 18 and 19 June 2009 and of 29 and 30 October 2009, the European Council underlined the need for strengthened border control operations coordinated by the Agency and for clear rules of engagement for joint patrolling. The European Council in June also stressed the need for rules on disembarkation of rescued persons.

Account should be taken of the fact that border surveillance operations coordinated by the Agency are conducted in accordance with an operational plan and with the schedule and instructions issued by a coordination centre in which participating Member States and the Agency are represented, and that one or more host Member States whose border will be surveyed are identified before the start of the operation.

Implementation of this Decision does not prejudice the division of competence between the Union and the Member States, and does not affect obligations of Member States under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea, the International Convention on Maritime Search and Rescue, the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organised Crime and its Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air, the Convention...