National sovereignty ′not at stake′ from EU border force

Plans for a new EU coast and border agency will have “full respect for national sovereignty,” European Commissioner for Migration Dimitris Avramopoulos told DW on Thursday.
His remarks follow plans for an expanded European Border Force and Coast Guard, which were announced on Tuesday. An enlarged agency will have the right to intervene at countries’ borders during emergency situations, like during a sudden influx of refugees or a terror attack.
A controversial part of the plan would allow Brussels to overrule EU states who are unable or unwilling to defend their part of the external border themselves.
Some analysts said the plans were likely to face opposition from southern European nations hardest hit by the arrival of hundreds of thousands of migrants to Europe this year, including Greece and Italy.
‘Worries unfounded’
But as EU leaders arrived in Brussels to discuss the scheme, Avramopoulos told DW that the expansion of powers by Brussels would mean “the exact opposite” of what some member states fear.

 

Read More: National sovereignty ′not at stake′ from EU border force | News | DW.COM | 17.12.2015