EUROSUR System Operational

Approved in October by the EU foreign ministers, the European border surveillance system, EUROSUR, became operational this week. Its goal is to strengthen the EU’s land and sea borders, by enabling Member countries to exchange information and to work with Frontex, the European border security agency, to reduce the number of illegal immigrants.

The system will also give Member states better tools to detect small migrant vessels in danger and to assist them, in conformity with European and international laws.

Radio Romania’s correspondent in Brussels, Cerasela Rădulescu, explains:

“The launch of EUROSUR is a response to the thorny issue of illegal immigration, particularly at the EU’s southern borders. The Lampedusa disaster revealed the need for a system able to monitor in real-time the unsafe and overcrowded vessels bringing immigrants from Africa or the Middle East. Brussels became aware that preventing further tragedies on the Mediterranean depends, to a large extent, on timely information sharing and on coordinated efforts from national and European agencies. EUROSUR offers a coordinated framework and better instruments to prevent cross-border crime, like human trafficking and drug trafficking.”

EUROSUR will be introduced gradually, as of December 2nd, in 18 EU states at the southern and Eastern EU borders, while the other 11 member countries and the Schengen states will join the system as of December 1st, 2014.

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