Regulation (EU) 2019/1896 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 November 2019 on the European Border and Coast Guard and repealing Regulations (EU) No 1052/2013 and (EU) 2016/1624

On the basis of the multiannual strategic policy cycle for European integrated border management, the European Border and Coast Guard shall establish an integrated planning process for border management and return, including operational planning, contingency planning and capability development planning processes. That integrated planning process shall be established in accordance with paragraphs 2, 3 and 4 of this Article.

Member States and the Agency shall adopt operational plans for border management and return. The operational plans of Member States related to border sections with high and critical impact levels shall be coordinated with neighbouring Member States and with the Agency with a view to implementing the necessary cross-border measures and providing for support by the Agency. For the activities of the Agency, operational planning processes for the following year shall be set out in an annex to the single programming document referred to in Article 102. For each specific operational activity, operational planning processes shall result in the operational plans referred to in Article 38 and Article 74(3). The operational plans or parts thereof may be classified where appropriate, in accordance with Article 92.

Member States shall each adopt a contingency plan for the management of their borders and return. In line with national integrated border management strategies, the contingency plans shall describe all the necessary measures and resources for the possible reinforcement of capabilities, including logistics and support both at national level and from the Agency.

Member States shall adopt national capability development plans for border management and return in line with their national integrated border management strategies. Those national capability development plans shall describe the medium- to long-term evolution of the national capabilities for border management and return.

The contingency plans and national capability development plans referred to in paragraphs 3 and 4 shall be based on scenarios that are derived from risk analysis. Those scenarios shall reflect the possible evolution of the situation at the external borders and in the area of illegal immigration and the challenges identified in the multiannual strategic policy cycle for European integrated border management. Those scenarios shall be set out in the contingency plans and national capability development plans to which they relate.

The methodology and the procedure for establishing the plans referred to in paragraphs 3 and 4 shall be adopted by the management board, after consultation with the Member States, on the basis of a proposal of the executive director.

The Agency shall prepare an overview of the national capability development plans and a multiannual strategy for the acquisition of the Agency's equipment referred to in Article 63 and the multiannual planning for profiles of staff for the standing corps.

The management board shall meet at least once a year to discuss and approve the capability roadmap of the European Border and Coast Guard. The capability roadmap shall be proposed by the executive director on the basis of the overview of the national capability development plans, taking into account, inter alia, the results of the risk analysis and vulnerability assessments carried out in accordance with Articles 29 and 32 and the Agency's own multiannual plans. Once the capability roadmap is approved by the management board, it shall be annexed to the technical and operational strategy referred to in Article 8(5).

The Agency shall perform the following tasks:

The Agency shall communicate on matters falling within its mandate. It shall provide the public with accurate, detailed, timely and comprehensive information about its activities.

In order to perform the tasks conferred on them by this Regulation, the Agency, the national authorities responsible for border management, including coast guards to the extent that they carry out border control tasks, and the national authorities responsible for return shall, in accordance with this Regulation and other relevant Union and national law regarding the exchange of information, share in a timely and accurate manner all necessary information.

The Agency shall take appropriate measures to facilitate the exchange of information relevant to its tasks with the Commission and the Member States.

The Agency shall take all necessary measures to facilitate the exchange of information relevant for its tasks with Ireland and the United Kingdom where that information relates to the activities in which they participate in accordance with Article 70 and Article 100(5).

Each Member State shall appoint a national contact point for communication with the Agency on all matters pertaining to the activities of the Agency, without prejudice to the role of the national coordination centres. The national contact points shall be reachable at all times and shall ensure the timely dissemination of all information from the Agency to all the relevant authorities within the Member State concerned, in particular the members of the management board and the national coordination centre.

Member States may designate up to two staff members representing their national contact point to be assigned to the Agency as liaison officers. The liaison officers shall facilitate communication between the national contact point and the Agency and may, where necessary, attend relevant meetings.

The Agency shall provide liaison officers with the necessary premises within its headquarters and with adequate support for the performance of their duties. All other costs that arise in connection with the deployment of liaison officers shall be covered by the Member State. The management board shall specify the rules and conditions of the deployment, as well as the rules concerning adequate support to be provided.

The Agency shall establish and maintain a communication network in order to provide communication and analytical tools and allow for the exchange of sensitive non-classified and classified information in a secure manner and in near real time with, and among, the national coordination centres.

The Agency shall provide technical support and ensure that the communication network is permanently available and can support the communication and information system managed by the Agency.

The Agency may take all necessary measures to facilitate the exchange of information relevant to its tasks with the European Parliament, the Council, the Commission, the Member States and, where appropriate, other Union institutions, and the Union bodies, offices and agencies and international organisations listed in Article 68(1) and third countries as referred to in Article 71.

The Agency shall develop, deploy and operate an information system capable of exchanging classified and sensitive non-classified information with the actors referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article, and of exchanging personal data referred to in Articles 86 to 91 in accordance with Article 92.

The Agency shall deploy the information systems referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article on the communication network referred to in Article 14 as appropriate.

EUROSUR shall be used for border checks at authorised border crossing points and for external land, sea and air border surveillance, including the monitoring, detection, identification, tracking, prevention and interception of unauthorised border crossings for the purpose of detecting, preventing and combating illegal immigration and cross-border crime and contributing to ensuring the protection and saving the lives of migrants.

EUROSUR shall not be used for any legal or administrative measure taken once the competent authorities of a Member State have intercepted cross-border criminal activities or unauthorised crossings by persons of the external borders.

Member States and the Agency shall use EUROSUR for the exchange of information and for the cooperation in the field of border control, taking into account existing information exchange and cooperation mechanisms. EUROSUR shall consist of the following components:

The national coordination centres shall provide the Agency, via the communication network referred to in Article 14 and relevant systems, with information from their national situational pictures and, as appropriate, from specific situational pictures, which is required for the establishment and maintenance of the European situational picture.

The Agency shall give the national coordination centres, via the communication network, unlimited access twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, to specific situational pictures and to the European situational picture.

Each Member State shall designate, operate and maintain a national coordination centre which shall coordinate, and exchange information among, all authorities having responsibility for external border control at national level, as well as with the other national coordination centres and the Agency. Each Member State shall notify the establishment of its national coordination centre to the Commission, which shall forthwith inform the other Member States and the Agency thereof.

Without prejudice to Article 13 and within the framework of EUROSUR, the national coordination centre shall be the single point of contact for the exchange of information and for the cooperation with other national coordination centres and with the Agency.

The national coordination centres shall:

Member States may charge regional, local, functional or other authorities which are in a position to take operational decisions with ensuring situational awareness and reaction capability in their respective areas of competence, including the tasks and competences listed in points (c), (e) and (f) of paragraph 3.

The decision of a Member State to allocate tasks in accordance with paragraph 4 shall not affect the national coordination centre in its ability to cooperate and exchange information with other national coordination centres and the Agency.

In pre-defined cases, as determined at national level, a national coordination centre may authorise an authority referred to in paragraph 4 to communicate and exchange information with the regional authorities or the national coordination centre of another Member State or the competent authorities of a third country on condition that such authorised authority regularly informs its own national coordination centre of such communication and exchange of information.

The national coordination centre shall operate twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.

The Commission shall, in close cooperation with the Agency and any other relevant Union body, office or agency, adopt and make available a practical handbook for the implementation and management of EUROSUR (the ‘EUROSUR Handbook’). The EUROSUR Handbook shall provide technical and operational guidelines, recommendations and best practices, including in relation to cooperation with third countries. The Commission shall adopt the EUROSUR Handbook in the form of a recommendation.

The Commission may decide, after consultation with Member States and the Agency, to classify parts of the EUROSUR Handbook as RESTREINT UE/EU RESTRICTED in compliance with the rules laid down in the Rules of Procedure of the Commission.

The Agency and the Member States shall ensure that procedures are in place to monitor the technical and operational functioning of EUROSUR against the objectives of achieving an adequate situational awareness and reaction capability at the external borders.

The Agency shall continuously monitor the quality of the service offered by the communication network referred to in Article 14 and the quality of the data shared in the European situational picture.

The Agency shall transmit information collected as part of the monitoring under paragraph 2 to the national coordination centres and the relevant command and control structures used for the Agency's operations as part of the EUROSUR fusion services. Such information shall be classified RESTREINT UE/EU RESTRICTED.

The national situational pictures, the European situational picture and the specific situational pictures shall be produced through the collection, evaluation, collation, analysis, interpretation, generation, visualisation and dissemination of information.

The situational pictures referred to in paragraph 1 shall allow for the identification and tracing of events, operations and corresponding analysis relating to situations where human lives are at risk.

The Commission shall adopt an implementing act laying down the details of the information layers of the situational pictures and the rules for the establishment of specific situational pictures. The implementing act shall specify the type of information to be provided, the entities responsible for collecting, processing, archiving and transmitting specific information, the maximum time limits for reporting, the data security and data protection rules and related quality control mechanisms. That implementing act shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 122(2).

Each national coordination centre shall establish and maintain a national situational picture in order to provide all authorities having responsibility for external border control at national level with effective, accurate and timely information.

The national situational picture shall be composed of information collected from the following sources:

Each national coordination centre shall attribute a single indicative impact level, ranging from ‘low’ and ‘medium’ to ‘high’ and ‘very high’, to each incident in the events layer of the national situational picture. All incidents shall be shared with the Agency.

Each national coordination centre may decide, at the request of the competent national authorities, to restrict access to information related to national security, including military assets, on a need-to-know basis.

The national coordination centres of neighbouring Member States may share with each other, directly and in near real time, the situational picture of neighbouring external border sections, including the positions, status and type of own assets operating in the neighbouring external border sections.

The Agency shall establish and maintain a European situational picture in order to provide the national coordination centres and the Commission with effective, accurate and timely information and analysis, covering the external borders, the pre-frontier area and unauthorised secondary movements.

The European situational picture shall be composed of information collected from the following sources:

The events layer of the European situational picture shall include information relating to:

The operational layer of the European situational picture shall contain information on the joint operations and rapid interventions coordinated by the Agency and on hotspots, and shall include the mission statements, locations, status, duration, information on the Member States and other actors involved, daily and weekly situational reports, statistical data and information packages for the media.

Information on own assets in the operational layer of the European situational picture may, where appropriate, be classified as RESTREINT UE/EU RESTRICTED.

In the European situational picture, the Agency shall take into account the impact levels that were assigned to specific incidents in national situational pictures by the national coordination centres. For any incident in the pre-frontier area, the Agency shall assign a single indicative impact level and shall inform the national coordination centres thereof.

The Agency and the Member States may establish and maintain specific situational pictures in order to support specific operational activities at the external borders or to share information with Union institutions, bodies, offices and agencies and international organisations listed in Article 68(1) or third countries as provided for in Article 75.

The specific situational pictures shall be composed of a subset of information of the national and European situational pictures.

The detailed rules for establishing and sharing the specific situational pictures shall be set out in an operational plan for the operational activities concerned and in a bilateral or multilateral agreement where a specific situational picture is established in the framework of bilateral or multilateral cooperation with third countries. Any sharing of information under this paragraph shall be carried out in accordance with the principle of originator's consent.

The Agency shall coordinate the EUROSUR Fusion Services in order to supply the national coordination centres, the Commission and itself with information on the external borders and on the pre-frontier area on a regular, reliable and cost-efficient basis.

The Agency shall provide a national coordination centre, at its request, with information on the external borders of the Member State to which it belongs and on the pre-frontier area which may be derived from:

The Agency may refuse a request from a national coordination centre for technical, financial or operational reasons. The Agency shall notify the national coordination centre in due time of the reasons for such a refusal.

The Agency may use, on its own initiative, the surveillance tools referred to in paragraph 2 for collecting information on the pre-frontier area, which is relevant for the European situational picture.

The Agency shall monitor migratory flows towards the Union, and within the Union in terms of migratory trends, volume and routes, and other trends or possible challenges at the external borders and with regard to return. For that purpose, the Agency shall, by a decision of the management board based on a proposal from the executive director, establish a common integrated risk analysis model, which shall be applied by the Agency and the Member States. The common integrated risk analysis model shall be established and updated, where needed, on the basis of the outcome of the evaluation of the implementation of the multiannual strategic policy cycle for European integrated border management referred to in Article 8(7).

The Agency shall prepare general annual risk analyses, which shall be submitted to the European Parliament, to the Council and to the Commission applying the security rules adopted in accordance with Article 92, and tailored risk analyses for operational activities. Every two years, the Agency, in close consultation with the Member States, shall prepare and submit to the European Parliament, to the Council and to the Commission a strategic risk analysis for European integrated border management. Such strategic risk analyses shall be taken into account for the preparation of the multiannual strategic policy cycle for European integrated border management. The Agency shall prepare such general annual risk analyses and strategic risk analyses on the basis of information received, including from the Member States. Personal data shall be anonymised in the results of such risk analyses.

The risk analyses referred to in paragraph 2 shall cover all aspects relevant to European integrated border management with a view to developing a pre-warning mechanism.

The Agency shall publish comprehensive information on the common integrated risk analysis model.

Member States shall provide the Agency with all necessary information regarding the situation, trends and possible threats at the external borders and in the field of return. Member States shall regularly, or upon the request of the Agency, provide it with all relevant information such as statistical and operational data collected in relation to European integrated border management that is included in the list of mandatory information and data to be exchanged with the Agency as referred to in point (e) of Article 100(2), as well as information from the analysis layers of the national situational pictures as provided for in Article 25.

The results of the risk analysis shall be submitted to the management board and shared with the competent authorities of the Member States in a timely and accurate manner.

Member States shall take results of the risk analysis into account when planning their operations and activities at the external borders and their activities with regard to return.

The Agency shall incorporate the results of a common integrated risk analysis model in its development of common core curricula for training as referred to in Article 62.

The Agency shall ensure the regular monitoring of all Member States' management of the external borders and return through liaison officers of the Agency.

The executive director shall appoint experts from the statutory staff to be deployed as liaison officers. The executive director shall, on the basis of risk analysis and in consultation with the Member States concerned, make a proposal on the nature and terms of the deployment, the Member State or region to which a liaison officer may be deployed and possible tasks not covered by paragraph 3. The proposal from the executive director shall be subject to approval by the management board. The executive director shall notify the Member State concerned of the appointment and shall determine, together with that Member State, the location of deployment.

The liaison officers shall act on behalf of the Agency, and their role shall be to foster cooperation and dialogue between the Agency and the national authorities responsible for border management, including coast guards to the extent that they carry out border control tasks, as well as the national authorities responsible for return. The liaison officers shall, in particular:

If the reporting by the liaison officer referred to in point (i) of paragraph 3 raises concerns about one or more aspects relevant for the Member State concerned, the executive director shall inform that Member State without delay.

For the purposes of paragraph 3, the liaison officer shall, in compliance with the national and Union security and data protection rules:

The report of the liaison officer referred to in point (c) of paragraph 3 of this Article shall form part of the vulnerability assessment referred to in Article 32. The report shall be transmitted to the Member State concerned.

In carrying out their duties, the liaison officers shall take instructions only from the Agency.

The Agency shall establish a common vulnerability assessment methodology by decision of the management board, on the basis of a proposal from the executive director prepared in close cooperation with the Member States and the Commission. That methodology shall include objective criteria against which the Agency shall carry out the vulnerability assessment, the frequency of such assessments, how consecutive vulnerability assessments are to be carried out, and arrangements for an effective system for monitoring the implementation of recommendations of the executive director as referred to in paragraph 7.

The Agency shall monitor and assess the availability of the technical equipment, systems, capabilities, resources, infrastructure and adequately skilled and trained staff of Member States necessary for border control as referred to in point (a) of Article 3(1). In that context, the Agency shall assess the national capability development plans referred to in Article 9(4) as regards the capacity to perform border control taking into account the fact that some national capabilities may be partially used for purposes other than border control. For future planning, the Agency shall carry out such monitoring and assessment as a preventive measure on the basis of the risk analyses prepared in accordance with Article 29(2). The Agency shall carry out such monitoring and assessment at least once a year, unless the executive director, on the basis of risk analysis or a previous vulnerability assessment, decides otherwise. In any event, each Member State shall be subject to monitoring and assessment at least once every three years.

Without prejudice to Article 9, Member States shall, at the request of the Agency, provide information as regards technical equipment, staff and, to the extent possible, the financial resources available at national level to carry out border control. Member States shall also provide information on their contingency plans on border management at the Agency's request.

The aim of the vulnerability assessment is for the Agency: to assess the capacity and readiness of Member States to face present and upcoming challenges at the external borders; to identify, especially for those Member States facing specific and disproportionate challenges, possible immediate consequences at the external borders and subsequent consequences on the functioning of the Schengen area; to assess their capacity to contribute to the standing corps and to the technical equipment pool, including the rapid reaction equipment pool; and to assess the hosting capacity of Member States with regard to support from the European Border and Coast Guard in line with Article 9(3). That assessment shall be without prejudice to the Schengen evaluation mechanism.

In the vulnerability assessment, the Agency shall assess, in qualitative and quantitative terms, the Member States' capacity to carry out all border management tasks, including their capacity to deal with the potential arrival of large numbers of persons on their territory.

The preliminary results of the vulnerability assessment shall be submitted to the Member States concerned. The Member States concerned may comment on that assessment.

Where necessary, the executive director, in consultation with the Member State concerned, shall make a recommendation setting out the necessary measures to be taken by the Member State concerned and the time limit within which such measures are to be implemented. The executive director shall invite the Member States concerned to take the necessary measures on the basis of an action plan developed by the Member State in consultation with the executive director.

The executive director shall base the measures to be recommended to the Member States concerned on the results of the vulnerability assessment, taking into account the Agency's risk analysis, the comments of the Member State concerned and the results of the Schengen evaluation mechanism.

The executive director shall monitor the implementation of the recommended measures by means of regular reports to be submitted by the Member States on the basis of the action plans referred to in paragraph 7.

Where a Member State does not implement the necessary measures of the recommendation within the time limit set in accordance with paragraph 7 of this Article, the executive director shall refer the matter to the management board and notify the Commission. The management board shall adopt a decision on the basis of a proposal from the executive director, setting out the necessary measures to be taken by the Member State concerned and the time limit within which such measures are to be implemented. The decision of the management board shall be binding on the Member State. If the Member State does not implement the measures within the time limit provided for in that decision, the management board shall notify the Council and the Commission and further action may be taken in accordance with Article 42.

The vulnerability assessment, including a detailed description of the outcome of the vulnerability assessment, the measures taken by the Member States in response to the vulnerability assessment and the status of the implementation of any measures previously recommended, shall be transmitted, in accordance with Article 92, on a regular basis and at least once a year to the European Parliament, to the Council and to the Commission.

The synergies between the vulnerability assessment and the Schengen evaluation mechanism shall be maximised in order to establish an improved situational picture on the functioning of the Schengen area, avoiding, to the extent possible, the duplication of efforts on the Member States' side, and ensuring a better coordinated use of the relevant Union financial instruments supporting the management of the external borders.

For the purpose referred to in paragraph 1, the Commission and the Agency shall establish the necessary arrangements to share with each other in a regular, secured and timely manner all information related to the results of vulnerability assessments and the results of the evaluations carried out within the framework of the Schengen evaluation mechanism in the area of border management. Those information-sharing arrangements shall cover the reports of vulnerability assessments and reports of Schengen evaluation visits, subsequent recommendations, action plans and any updates on the implementation of the action plans provided by the Member States.

For the purposes of the Schengen evaluation mechanism as it relates to external border management, the Commission shall share the results of the vulnerability assessments with all the members of the Schengen evaluation teams involved in the evaluation of the Member State concerned. Such information shall be considered sensitive within the meaning of Regulation (EU) No 1053/2013 and shall be treated accordingly.

The arrangements referred to in paragraph 2 shall cover results of the evaluations carried out within the framework of the Schengen evaluation mechanism in the area of return to ensure the full awareness of the Agency of the identified deficiencies in view of enabling it to propose appropriate measures to support Member States concerned in that regard.

On the basis of the Agency's risk analysis and vulnerability assessment and in agreement with the Member State concerned, the Agency shall attribute the following impact levels to each external border section or change such levels:

In order to swiftly address a crisis situation at a particular external border section, where the Agency's risk analysis shows that incidents related to illegal immigration or cross-border crime occurring at the relevant external border section have a decisive impact on border security to such an extent that they risk jeopardising the functioning of the Schengen area, the Agency shall, in agreement with the Member State concerned, temporarily attribute a ‘critical’ impact level to that external border section.

Where there is no agreement between the Member State concerned and the Agency on the attribution of an impact level to an external border section, the impact level that was previously attributed to that border section shall remain unchanged.

The national coordination centre shall constantly assess in close cooperation with other competent national authorities whether there is a need to change the impact level of any of the external border sections by taking into account the information contained in the national situational picture and inform the Agency accordingly.

The Agency shall indicate the impact levels attributed to the external border sections in the European situational picture.

The Member States shall ensure that border control at the external border sections corresponds to the attributed impact levels in the following manner:

The national coordination centres shall regularly inform the Agency of the measures taken at national level pursuant to points (c) and (d) of paragraph 1.

Where a medium, high or critical impact level is attributed to an external border section which is adjacent to the border section of another Member State or of a third country with which agreements, arrangements or regional networks, as referred to in Articles 72 and 73, are in place, the national coordination centre shall contact the national coordination centre of the neighbouring Member State or the competent authority of the neighbouring third country and shall endeavour to coordinate together with the Agency the necessary cross-border measures.

The Agency shall, together with the Member State concerned, evaluate the attribution of impact levels and the corresponding measures taken at national and Union level. That evaluation shall contribute to the vulnerability assessment to be carried out by the Agency in accordance with Article 32.

A Member State may request the Agency's assistance in implementing its obligations with regard to external border control. The Agency shall also carry out measures in accordance with Articles 41 and 42.

The Agency shall organise the appropriate technical and operational assistance for the host Member State and it may, acting in accordance with the relevant Union and international law, including the principle of non-refoulement, take one or more of the following measures:

The Agency shall finance or co-finance the activities referred to in paragraph 2 from its budget in accordance with the financial rules applicable to the Agency.

If the Agency has substantial additional financial needs due to a situation at the external borders, it shall inform the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission thereof without delay.

A Member State may request that the Agency launch joint operations to face upcoming challenges, including illegal immigration, present or future threats at its external borders or cross-border crime, or provide increased technical and operational assistance when implementing its obligations with regard to external border control. As part of such a request, a Member State may also indicate the profiles of operational staff needed for the joint operation in question, including those staff having executive powers, as applicable.

At the request of a Member State faced with a situation of specific and disproportionate challenges, especially the arrival at points of the external borders of large numbers of third-country nationals trying to enter the territory of that Member State without authorisation, the Agency may deploy a rapid border intervention for a limited period of time on the territory of that host Member State.

The executive director shall evaluate, approve and coordinate proposals made by Member States for joint operations or rapid border interventions. Joint operations and rapid border interventions shall be preceded by a thorough reliable and up-to-date risk analysis, thereby enabling the Agency to set an order of priority for the proposed joint operations and rapid border interventions, taking into account the impact levels attributed to external border sections in accordance with Article 34 and the availability of resources.

The objectives of a joint operation or rapid border intervention may be achieved as part of a multipurpose operation. Such operations may involve coast guard functions and the prevention of cross-border crime, focusing on the fight against migrant smuggling or trafficking in human beings, and migration management, focusing on identification, registration, debriefing and return.

In preparation of a joint operation the executive director, in cooperation with the host Member State, shall draw up a list of technical equipment, staff and profiles of staff needed, including those staff having executive powers, as applicable, to be authorised in accordance with Article 82(2). That list shall be drawn up taking into account the host Member State's available resources and the host Member State's request under Article 37. On the basis of those elements, the Agency shall define a package of technical and operational reinforcement as well as capacity-building activities to be included in the operational plan.

The executive director shall draw up an operational plan for joint operations at the external borders. The executive director and the host Member State, in close and timely consultation with the participating Member States, shall agree on the operational plan detailing the organisational and procedural aspects of the joint operation.

The operational plan shall be binding on the Agency, the host Member State and the participating Member States. It shall cover all aspects considered necessary for carrying out the joint operation, including the following:

Any amendments to or adaptations of the operational plan shall require the agreement of the executive director and the host Member State, after consultation of the participating Member States. A copy of the amended or adapted operational plan shall immediately be sent by the Agency to the participating Member States.

This Article shall apply mutatis mutandis to all operations of the Agency.

A request by a Member State to launch a rapid border intervention shall include a description of the situation, possible aims and envisaged needs, and the profiles of staff needed, including those staff having executive powers, as applicable. If required, the executive director may immediately send experts from the Agency to assess the situation at the external borders of the Member State concerned.

The executive director shall immediately inform the management board of a Member State's request to launch a rapid border intervention.

When deciding on the request of a Member State, the executive director shall take into account the findings of the Agency's risk analyses and the analysis layer of the European situational picture as well as the outcome of the vulnerability assessment referred to in Article 32 and any other relevant information provided by the Member State concerned or another Member State.

The executive director shall immediately assess the possibilities for redeployment of available members of the teams within the standing corps, in particular statutory staff and staff seconded to the Agency by the Member States, present in other operational areas. The executive director shall also assess the additional need to deploy operational staff in accordance with Article 57 and, once staff within the required profiles have been exhausted, to activate the reserve for rapid reaction in accordance with Article 58.

The executive director shall take a decision on the request to launch a rapid border intervention within two working days from the date of receipt of the request. The executive director shall simultaneously notify the Member State concerned and the management board in writing of the decision. The decision shall state the main reasons on which it is based.

When taking the decision referred to in paragraph 5 of this Article, the executive director shall inform the Member States about the possibility of requesting additional operational staff in accordance with Article 57 and, where applicable, Article 58 by indicating possible numbers and profiles of staff to be provided by each Member State.

If the executive director decides to launch a rapid border intervention, he or she shall deploy available border management teams from the standing corps and equipment from the technical equipment pool in accordance with Article 64, and where necessary, he or she shall decide on the immediate reinforcement by one or more border management teams, in accordance with Article 57.

The executive director together with the host Member State shall draw up and agree upon an operational plan as referred to in Article 38(2) immediately and, in any event, no later than three working days from the date of the decision.

As soon as the operational plan has been agreed upon and provided to the Member States, the executive director shall immediately deploy the operational staff available through redeployments from other operational areas or other duties.

In parallel to the deployment referred to in paragraph 9, and where necessary to secure the immediate reinforcement of the border management teams redeployed from other areas or duties, the executive director shall request from each Member State the number and profiles of additional staff to be additionally deployed from their national lists for short-term deployments as referred to in Article 57.

If a situation arises where the border management teams referred to in paragraph 7 and the staff referred to in paragraph 10 of this Article are insufficient, the executive director may activate the reserve for rapid reaction by requesting from each Member State the number and profiles of additional staff to be deployed as provided for in Article 58.

The information referred to paragraphs 10 and 11 shall be provided in writing to the national contact points and shall indicate the date on which the deployments of staff from each category are to take place. A copy of the operational plan shall also be provided to the national contact points.

Member States shall ensure that the number and profiles of staff are immediately made available to the Agency to guarantee a complete deployment in accordance with Article 57 and, if applicable, Article 58.

The deployment of the first border management teams redeployed from other areas and other duties shall take place no later than five working days after the date on which the operational plan is agreed between the executive director and the host Member State. Additional deployment of border management teams shall take place, where necessary, no later than 12 working days after the date on which the operational plan is agreed.

Where the rapid border intervention is to take place, the executive director shall, in consultation with the management board, immediately consider the priorities with regard to the Agency's ongoing and planned joint operations at other external borders in order to provide for possible reallocation of resources to the areas of the external borders where a strengthened deployment is most needed.

Where a Member State faces disproportionate migratory challenges at particular hotspot areas of its external borders characterised by large inward mixed migratory flows, that Member State may request technical and operational reinforcement by migration management support teams composed of experts from relevant Union bodies, offices and agencies that shall operate in accordance with their mandates.

The relevant Union bodies, offices and agencies shall examine, in accordance with their respective mandates, the Member State's request for reinforcement and the assessment of its needs for the purpose of defining a comprehensive reinforcement package consisting of various activities coordinated by the relevant Union bodies, offices and agencies, to be agreed upon by the Member State concerned. The Commission shall coordinate that process.

The Commission, in cooperation with the host Member State and the relevant Union bodies, offices and agencies in accordance with their respective mandates, shall establish the terms of cooperation at the hotspot area and shall be responsible for the coordination of the activities of the migration management support teams.

The technical and operational reinforcement provided, with full respect for fundamental rights, by the standing corps in the framework of migration management support teams may include the provision of:

Migration management support teams shall include, where necessary, staff with expertise in child protection, trafficking in human beings, protection against gender-based persecution or fundamental rights.

On the basis of the results of the vulnerability assessment or where a critical impact level is attributed to one or more external border sections and taking into account the relevant elements in the Member State's contingency plans, the Agency's risk analysis and the analysis layer of the European situational picture, the executive director shall recommend to the Member State concerned to request that the Agency initiate, carry out or adjust joint operations, rapid border interventions or any other relevant actions by the Agency as set out in Article 36.

The Member State concerned shall respond to the recommendation of the executive director referred to in paragraph 1 within six working days. In the event of a negative response to the recommendation, the Member State shall also provide the justifications underlying that response. The executive director shall notify the management board and the Commission without delay about the recommended actions and the justifications for the negative response, with a view to assessing whether urgent action may be required in accordance with Article 42.

Where external border control is rendered ineffective to such an extent that it risks jeopardising the functioning of the Schengen area because:

Where a situation requiring urgent action arises, the European Parliament shall be informed of that situation without delay as well as of any subsequent measures and decisions taken in response.

To mitigate the risk of putting the Schengen area in jeopardy, the Council decision referred to in paragraph 1 shall provide for one or more of the following measures to be taken by the Agency:

The executive director shall, within two working days from the date of adoption of the Council decision referred to in paragraph 1:

The executive director and the Member State concerned shall agree on the operational plan referred to in point (b) of paragraph 4 within three working days from the date of its submission.

The Agency shall, without delay, and in any case within five working days from the establishment of the operational plan, deploy the necessary operational staff from the standing corps for the practical execution of the measures identified in the Council decision referred to in paragraph 1. Additional teams shall be deployed as necessary at a second stage, and in any case within 12 working days from the establishment of the operational plan.

The Agency and the Member States shall, without delay, and in any case within 10 working days from the establishment of the operational plan, send the necessary technical equipment and competent staff to the destination of deployment for the practical execution of the measures identified in the Council decision referred to in paragraph 1.

The Member State concerned shall comply with the Council decision referred to in paragraph 1. For that purpose, it shall immediately cooperate with the Agency and take the necessary action to facilitate the implementation of that decision and the practical execution of the measures set out in that decision and in the operational plan agreed upon with the executive director, in particular by implementing the obligations provided for in Articles 43, 82 and 83.

In accordance with Article 57 and, where relevant, Article 39, the Member States shall make available the operational staff determined by the executive director in accordance with paragraph 4 of this Article.