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SOFIA, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- The European Border and Coast Guard Agency was officially launched on Thursday at Bulgaria's Kapitan Andreevo checkpoint near the border with Turkey to address migration and security challenges.
"Right here and right now, we officially launch the European Border and Coast Guard, both legally and operationally," European Commissioner for Migration Dimitris Avramopoulos said.
"It is an unprecedented achievement of European political will and union, in times where our unity is tested," Avramopoulos said, adding that the new agency "is a symbol of a Europe that is efficient in addressing the migration and security challenges we are facing in cooperation with our neighbors."
Avramopoulos recalled that thanks to the common work and commitment, the European Border and Coast Guard has become a reality in less than nine months since the European Commission proposed it.
"The European citizens have demanded a tangible European response, and today we deliver it collectively," he said.
By 2020, the agency will include 1,000 staff members, and will also be able to activate a rapid reaction pool of at least 1,500 border guards and other relevant staff, as well as a pool of rapid reaction equipment, Avramopoulos said.
"These two pools will be made available to the agency whenever needed to address urgent situations. With this innovation, we will resolve one of the main weaknesses of the current system," he said.
The new agency will closely monitor the management of the external borders by all EU member states through the deployment of liaison officers and mandatory vulnerability assessments, he said.
Fabrice Leggeri, the agency's executive director, said that it is stronger and better equipped than its predecessor, Frontex (the European Agency for the management of operational cooperation at the external borders of the member states of the EU), to tackle migration and security challenges at Europe's external borders.
The agency would also be able to offer operational support to neighboring non-EU countries that ask for assistance at their border and share intelligence on cross-border criminal activities with national authorities and European agencies in support of criminal investigations, Leggeri said.
It would have a key role at Europe's maritime borders through its new coast guard functions, Leggeri added.
Rumiana Bachvarova, Bulgarian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, said that through this agency, the EU has launched a more effective and collaborative partnerships for security and management of its external borders.
"We do it in the name of safety and security of all European citizens," she said.
However, Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov said that Turkey should remain a strategic partner of Europe, along with countries like Jordan and Lebanon.
Meanwhile, Europe must focus on stopping the war in Syria to allow refugees to return to their homes, Borissov said. Enditem
