Regulation (EU) No 515/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 April 2014 establishing, as part of the Internal Security Fund, the instrument for financial support for external borders and visa and repealing Decision No 574/2007/EC

CHAPTER I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1

Purpose and scope

Jointly with Regulation (EU) 513/2014, this Regulation establishes the Fund for the period from 1 January 2014 to 31 December 2020.

This Regulation lays down:

(a) the objectives of financial support and the eligible actions;

(b) the general framework for the implementation of the eligible actions;

(c) the resources made available under the Instrument from 1 January 2014 to 31 December 2020 and their distribution;

(d) the scope and purpose of the different specific means through which the expenditure for the management of the external borders and the common visa policy is financed.

Article 2

Definitions

For the purposes of this Regulation the following definitions shall apply:

(a) ‘external borders’ means the land borders of the Member States, including river and lake borders, sea borders and their airports, river ports, sea ports and lake ports to which the provisions of Union law on the crossing of external borders apply, whether the borders are temporary or not;

(b) ‘common Union standards’ means the application of operational measures in a common and unfragmented manner to obtain a high and uniform level of security in the field of border control and visas in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 562/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council (¹), Regulation (EC) No 810/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council (²), Regulation (EC) No 767/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council (³), Regulation (EC) No 2007/2004, Regulation (EC) No 1931/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council (⁴), the Schengen catalogue for external border control, the Practical Handbook for border guards, the Handbook on visas, the Eurosur Handbook and any other Regulations and guidelines to be adopted at the Union level on border control and visas;

(c) ‘temporary external borders’ means: (i) the common border between a Member State fully implementing the Schengen acquis and a Member State bound to apply the Schengen acquis in full, in conformity with its Act of Accession, but for which the relevant Council Decision authorising it to fully apply that acquis has not entered into force; (ii) the common border between two Member States bound to apply the Schengen acquis in full, in conformity with their respective Acts of Accession, but for which the relevant Council Decision authorising them to fully apply that acquis has not yet entered into force;

(d) ‘border crossing point’ means any crossing point authorised by the competent authorities for the crossing of external borders as notified in accordance with Article 34(2) of Regulation (EC) No 562/2006;

(e) ‘Schengen evaluation and monitoring mechanism’ means the verification of the correct application of the Schengen acquis as laid down in Regulation (EU) No 1053/2013;

(f) ‘emergency situation’ means a situation resulting from an urgent and exceptional pressure where a large or disproportionate number of third-country nationals are crossing or are expected to cross the external border of one or more Member States or any other duly substantiated emergency situation requiring urgent action at the external borders;

(g) ‘external borders section’ means the whole or a part of the external land or sea border of a Member State as defined by national law or as determined by the national coordination centre or any other responsible national authority for the purpose of the implementation of Regulation (EU) No 1052/2013.

Article 3

Objectives

Within the general objective set out in paragraph 1, the Instrument shall contribute — in accordance with the priorities identified in relevant Union strategies, programmes, threat assessments and risk assessments — to meeting the following specific objectives:

(a) supporting a common visa policy to facilitate legitimate travel, provide a high quality of service to visa applicants, ensure equal treatment of third-country nationals and tackle illegal immigration;

(b) supporting integrated border management, including promoting further harmonisation of border management-related measures in accordance with common Union standards and through the sharing of information between Member States and between Member States and the Frontex Agency, to ensure, on one hand, a uniform and high level of control and protection of the external borders, including by the tackling of illegal immigration and, on the other hand, the smooth crossing of the external borders in conformity with the Schengen acquis, while guaranteeing access to international protection for those needing it, in accordance with the obligations contracted by the Member States in the field of human rights, including the principle of non-refoulement.

The achievement of the specific objectives of the Instrument shall be evaluated in accordance with Article 55(2) of Regulation (EU) No 514/2014 using common indicators, as set out in Annex IV to this Regulation and programme-specific indicators included in national programmes.

To achieve the objectives referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2, the Instrument shall contribute to the following operational objectives:

(a) promoting the development, implementation and enforcement of policies with a view to ensuring the absence of any controls on persons, whatever their nationality, when crossing the internal borders, and to carrying out checks on persons and monitoring efficiently the crossing of external borders;

(b) gradually establishing an integrated management system for external borders, based on solidarity and responsibility, in particular by means of: (i) the reinforcement of external border checks and surveillance systems and of inter-agency cooperation between border guards, customs, migration, asylum and law enforcement authorities of Member States at the external borders, including in the maritime border area; (ii) measures within the territory relating to the management of external borders and the necessary flanking measures on document security, identity management and the interoperability of acquired technical equipment; (iii) any measures also contributing to the prevention and fight against cross-border crime at external borders relating to the movement of persons, including trafficking in human beings and human smuggling;

(c) promoting the development and implementation of the common policy on visas and other short-stay residence permits, and of different forms of consular cooperation in order to ensure better consular coverage and harmonised practices on visa issuing;

(d) setting up and running IT systems, their communication infrastructure and equipment that support the common visa policy, border checks and border surveillance at the external borders and fully respect personal data protection law;

(e) reinforcing situational awareness at the external borders and the reaction capabilities of Member States;

(f) ensuring the efficient and uniform application of the Union’s acquis on borders and visas, including the effective functioning of the Schengen evaluation and monitoring mechanism;

(g) reinforcing actions by the Member States contributing to enhancing the cooperation between Member States operating in third countries as regards the flows of third-country nationals into the territory of Member States, including prevention and tackling of illegal immigration, as well as the cooperation with third countries in that respect in full coherence with the objectives and principles of Union external action and humanitarian policy.

In particular, wherever possible, special attention shall be given by Member States when implementing actions to the identification, immediate assistance and referral to protection services of vulnerable persons, in particular children and unaccompanied minors.

Article 4

Eligible actions

Within the objectives referred to in Article 3 of this Regulation, and in the light of the outcome of the policy dialogue as provided for in Article 13 of Regulation (EU) No 514/2014 and in accordance with the objectives of the national programme referred to in Article 9 of this Regulation, the Instrument shall support actions in or by Member States, in particular the following:

(a) infrastructures, buildings and systems required at border crossing points and for surveillance between border crossing points to prevent and tackle unauthorised border crossings, illegal immigration and cross-border criminality as well as to guarantee smooth travel flows;

(b) operating equipment, means of transport and communication systems required for effective and secure border control and the detection of persons;

(c) IT and communication systems for the efficient management of migration flows across borders, including investment in existing and future systems;

(d) infrastructures, buildings, communication and IT systems and operating equipment required for the processing of visa applications and consular cooperation, as well as other actions aimed at improving the quality of service for visa applicants;

(e) training in the use of the equipment and systems referred to in points (b), (c) and (d) and the promotion of quality management standards and training of border guards, including where appropriate in third countries, with respect to the performance of their surveillance, advisory and control tasks in compliance with international human rights law, including the identification of victims of human trafficking and people smuggling;

(f) secondment of immigration liaisons officers and document advisers in third countries and the exchange and secondment of border guards between Member States or between a Member State and a third country;

(g) studies, training, pilot projects and other actions gradually establishing an integrated management system for external borders as referred to in Article 3(3), including actions aiming to foster interagency cooperation either within Member States or between Member States and actions relating to the interoperability and harmonisation of border management systems;

(h) studies, pilot projects and actions aiming to implement the recommendations, operational standards and best practices resulting from the operational cooperation between Member States and Union agencies.

Within the objectives referred to in Article 3 of this Regulation, and in the light of the outcome of the policy dialogue as provided for in Article 13 of Regulation (EU) No 514/2014 and in accordance with the objectives of the national programme referred to in Article 9 of this Regulation, the Instrument shall support actions in relation to and in third countries and in particular the following:

(a) information systems, tools or equipment for sharing information between Member States and third countries;

(b) actions relating to operational cooperation between Member States and third countries, including joint operations;

(c) projects in third countries aimed at improving surveillance systems to ensure cooperation with Eurosur;

(d) studies, seminars, workshops, conferences, training, equipment and pilot projects to provide ad hoc technical and operational expertise to third countries;

(e) studies, seminars, workshops, conferences, training, equipment and pilot projects implementing specific recommendations, operational standards and best practices resulting from operational cooperation between Member States and Union agencies in third countries.

The Commission and the Member States, together with the European External Action Service, shall ensure coordination as regards actions in and in relation to third countries, as set out in Article 3(5) of Regulation (EU) No 514/2014.

CHAPTER II

FINANCIAL AND IMPLEMENTATION FRAMEWORK

Article 5

Global resources and implementation

The global resources shall be implemented through the following means:

(a) national programmes, in accordance with Articles 9 and 12;

(b) operating support, within the framework of the national programmes and under the conditions laid down in Article 10;

(c) the Special Transit Scheme, in accordance with Article 11;

(d) Union actions, in accordance with Article 13;

(e) emergency assistance, in accordance with Article 14;

(f) the implementation of a programme for setting up IT systems supporting the management of migration flows across the external borders under the conditions laid down in Article 15;

(g) technical assistance in accordance with Article 16.

The budget allocated to the national programmes referred to in Article 9, to the operating support referred to in Article 10 and to the functioning of the Special Transit Scheme referred to in Article 11 shall be implemented under shared management in accordance with point (b) of Article 58(1) of Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012.

The budget allocated to countries associated with the implementation, application and development of the Schengen acquis referred to in paragraph 7 of this Article shall be implemented under indirect management in accordance with point (c)(i) of Article 58(1) of Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012.

The method(s) of implementation of the budget for the programme on the development of IT systems, based on existing and/or new IT systems, shall be set out in the relevant Union legislative acts subject to their adoption.

The global resources shall be used as follows:

(a) EUR 1 551  million for the national programmes of Member States;

(b) EUR 791 million for developing IT systems, based on existing and/or new IT systems, supporting the management of migration flows across the external borders, subject to the adoption of the relevant Union legislative acts; Where that amount is not allocated or spent, the Commission shall, by means of a delegated act in accordance with Article 17, re-allocate it to one or more of the activities referred to in points (b) and (c) of Article 6(1)and point (d) of this paragraph. That delegated act shall include an assessment of the evolution of the relevant IT systems including the implementation of the budget and expected unspent amounts. That re-allocation may take place following the adoption of the relevant legislative acts or on the occasion of the mid-term review referred to in Article 8.

(c) EUR 154 million for the Special Transit Scheme;

(d) EUR 264 million for Union actions, emergency assistance and technical assistance at the initiative of the Commission, of which at least 30 % shall be used for Union actions.

Arrangements shall be concluded on the financial contributions by those countries to the Instrument and the supplementary rules necessary for such participation, including provisions ensuring the protection of the Union’s financial interests and the power of audit of the Court of Auditors.

The financial contributions from those countries shall be added to the global resources available from the Union budget referred to in paragraph 1.

Article 6

Resources for eligible actions in the Member States

EUR 1 551  million shall be allocated to the Member States indicatively as follows:

(a) EUR 1 276  million, as indicated in Annex I;

(b) EUR 147 million, based on the results of the mechanism referred to in Article 7;

(c) in the framework of the mid-term review referred to in Article 8 and for the period as of budget year 2018, EUR 128 million, the remainder of the available appropriations under this Article or another amount, as determined pursuant to paragraph 4, based on the results of the risk analysis and the mid-term review.

Each Member State shall allocate the basic amounts for national programmes indicated in Annex I as follows:

(a) at least 10 % for actions relating to point (a) of Article 9(2);

(b) at least 25 % for actions relating to point (b) of Article 9(2);

(c) at least 5 % for actions relating to points (c), (d), (e) and (f) of Article 9(2).

Member States may depart from those minimum percentages provided that an explanation is included in the national programme as to why allocating resources below those minima does not jeopardise the achievement of the relevant objective. That explanation will be assessed by the Commission in the context of its approval of national programmes as referred to in Article 9(2).

Article 7

Resources for specific actions

Article 8

Resources in the framework of the mid-term review

In order to allocate the amount indicated in point (c) of Article 6(1), by 1 June 2017 the Commission shall take into account the burden of Member States in border management, including search and rescue activities which may arise during border surveillance operations at sea and assessment reports drawn up as part of the Schengen evaluation and monitoring mechanism, and threat levels at the external borders for the period 2017-2020, as well as factors that affected security at the external borders in 2014-2016. That amount shall be distributed between Member States on the basis of the weighing of the following categories of borders, taking into account paragraph 6 of this Article:

(a) 45 % for external maritime borders;

(b) 38 % for external land borders;

(c) 17 % for airports.

For the external maritime and land borders the calculation of the amount shall be based on the length of sections of the external border multiplied by a threat level (minimum, normal, medium, high) for each border section, as follows:

(a) coefficient 0,5 for minimum threat;

(b) coefficient 1 for normal threat;

(c) coefficient 3 for medium threat;

(d) coefficient 5 for high threat.

For the airports, the allocation shall be calculated for each Member State as follows:

(a) 50 % on the basis of the number of persons crossing the external borders;

(b) 50 % on the basis of the number of third-country nationals refused entry at the external borders.

In accordance with the Frontex Agency’s risk analysis report and in consultation with the Frontex Agency, and, where relevant, other Union agencies, the Commission shall determine threat levels for each external border section of the Member States for the period 2017-2020. The threat levels shall be based on the following factors:

(a) burden in border management at the external borders;

(b) factors that affected security at the external borders of the Member States in the period 2014-2016;

(c) changes in Union policies, for example visa policies;

(d) possible future trends in migratory flows and risks of unlawful activities related to the irregular crossing of persons of the external borders; and

(e) likely political, economic and social developments in third countries, and in particular, neighbouring countries.

Before issuing its report determining the threat levels, the Commission shall hold an exchange of views with the Member States.

For the purpose of the distribution of resources under paragraph 1: