"One of the measures that we have taken is the European Border Guard. We have recently reached an agreement on the Council level. We are in urgent need of means to better control our joint external borders. Today we agreed that we should negotiate with the European Parliament as quickly as possible and also start preparations for implementation. The European Guard should take off as soon as possible and it is our preference that it will be already this summer," Dijkhoff told reporters.
In December 2015, the European Commission proposed to establish the European Border and Coast Guard to enhance EU external borders control and prevent migrants from outside the bloc to reach its frontiers. According to the proposal, some 1,500 border guards could work at the agency, which would be allowed to send undocumented migrants to their countries of origin.
Europe is struggling to find a solution to a massive refugee crisis and to strengthen EU external border control, aimed at preventing the uncontrolled flow of migrants into the bloc, as hundreds of thousands of migrants leaving conflict-torn countries of the Middle East and North Africa for Europe.
