The first step towards a common policy for the management of external borders was taken on 14 June 1985, when five of the ten Member States of the European Economic Community at the time signed an international treaty, known as the Schengen Agreement, near the Luxembourg border town of Schengen, supplemented five years later by the Convention implementing the Schengen Agreement[1]. The Schengen area, the border-free area created by the Schengen acquis (as agreements and rules are collectively called), currently comprises 26 European countries[2]. In this respect, two solutions are possible. First, the current system can be maintained but adapted to local realities. Adaptation should be based on enhanced cooperation between the responsible European bodies and the courts and their national partners in order to ensure full control of Frontex`s activities. This possibility is enshrined in Article 112 of the Frontex Regulation for the European Parliament and national parliaments. Second, gaps in accountability and legal scrutiny can be filled by combining hybrid management of the EU`s external borders with a somewhat hybrid approach to accountability and legal scrutiny. One can imagine here composite parliamentary structures bringing together Members of the European Parliament and Members of national parliaments, such as the Joint Parliamentary Scrutiny Group (JCSG) for Europol. In addition, joint judicial review between the CJEU and national courts could be considered.

This could lead to an interim scenario, similar to the judicial review of the actions of the European Central Bank under the Single Supervisory Mechanism, based on exclusive review by the CJEU, but in close cooperation with national courts (and with due regard to their competence) in the enforcement of national law by an EU body. However, a more radical hybrid scenario of judicial review could also be envisaged: the CJEU would examine Frontex`s actions on the basis of EU law, while national courts would have jurisdiction to hear the Agency`s actions on the basis of national law, as is the case for the European Public Prosecutor`s Office. In September 2018, the Commission presented a new proposal to strengthen the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, which was adopted in November 2019[10]. The Agency has been given a new mandate, as well as its own resources and powers to manage the external borders, carry out returns more efficiently and cooperate with third countries. 1. The Schengen Borders Code[3] is the central pillar of the external border area. It lays down the rules on the crossing of external borders and the conditions for the temporary reintroduction of border control at internal borders. It obliges Member States to carry out systematic checks against relevant databases on all persons, including those who have the right to free movement under EU law (i.e. EU citizens and their family members who are not EU citizens) when crossing external borders. The databases used for checks include the Schengen Information System (SIS) and the Interpol Stolen and Lost Travel Documents (SLTD) database.

These obligations apply to all external borders (air, sea and land), both at entry and exit. Parliament also insisted that any action in this area must take due account of the EU acquis on borders and asylum, as well as the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union. Parliament has been calling for reliable and fair procedures and a comprehensive approach to migration at EU level for some time now[17]. EBCG was commissioned in October 2016. This decentralised agency is responsible for monitoring the EU`s external borders and, together with Member States, identifying and addressing potential security threats at the EU`s external borders. Before 2015, Parliament had been calling for several years to strengthen the role of Frontex in order to increase its capacity to respond more effectively to changing migration flows. Like what. In its resolution of 2 April 2014 on the mid-term review of the Stockholm Programme[9], Parliament called for European border guards to protect the borders of the Schengen area. In its conclusions of October 2015, the European Council also expressed its support for the “gradual establishment of an integrated management system at the external borders”. Parliament insists that the Agency`s new powers of intervention should be activated by a decision of the Member States within the Council and not, as originally proposed, by a Commission decision. The Regulation extends the scope of the EBCGA/Frontex to strengthen support to Member States in the areas of migration management, the fight against cross-border crime and search and rescue operations. It provides for an increased role for Frontex in the return of migrants to their countries of origin, in line with decisions taken by national authorities.

On the basis of a proposal from the Commission, the Council may request the Agency to intervene in exceptional cases and to provide assistance to Member States. This is the case if: not all Member States have external borders and not all are affected in the same way by cross-border traffic flows. The EU therefore provides funds to try to offset some of the costs for member states whose own borders are also the EU`s external borders. This burden-sharing mechanism was financed with a total budget of €3.8 billion. EUR for the seven-year financial programming period 2014-2020. The main objective of the ISF is to contribute to ensuring a high level of security in the Union while facilitating legitimate travel. The beneficiaries of the programmes implemented under this Fund may be state and federal authorities, local government agencies, non-governmental organizations, humanitarian organizations, private and public companies, and educational and research institutions. eu-LISA was established in 2011 and is responsible for the operational management of three key EU IT systems: SIS, VIS and Eurodac[12].