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The External Borders Fund

The External Borders Fund

  • The External Borders Fund
    The External Borders Fund

Decision No 574/2007/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 May 2007 establishing the External Borders Fund for the period 2007 – 2013 as part of the General Programme Solidarity and Management of Migration Flows forms the legal basis for the use of funds of the External Borders Fund 2007–2013 by Poland.

http://eur-lex.europa.eu/JOHtml.do?uri=OJ:L:2007:144:SOM:EN:HTML

The main objective of the Fund is the efficient management by the Member States of the flows of persons at the EU’s external borders in order to ensure, on the one hand, a high level of protection at the external borders and, on the other hand, the smooth crossing of the external borders in conformity with the Schengen acquis and the principles of respectful treatment and dignity.

The Fund contributes to the achievement of the following objectives:

  1. efficient organisation of control, covering both checks and surveillance tasks relating to the external borders;
  2. efficient management by the Member States of the flows of persons at the external borders in order to ensure, on the one hand, a high level of protection at the external borders and, on the other, the smooth crossing of the external borders in conformity with the Schengen acquis and the principles of respectful treatment and dignity;
  3. uniform application by border guards of the provisions of Community law on the crossing of external borders, in particular Regulation (EC) No 562/2006;
  4. improvement of the management of activities organised by consular services and other services of the Member States in third countries as regards the flows of third-country nationals into the territory of Member States and cooperation between Member States in this regard.

Allocations

In the period 2007-2013, the total amount available for Poland in the framework of the Fund exceeds EUR 78 million. Annual allocations for Poland are as follows:

  • 2007  – EUR 7,169,354.28
  • 2008  – EUR 7,860,469,93
  • 2009  – EUR 8,688,538.00
  • 2010  – EUR 8,195,390.00
  • 2011  – EUR 9,508,340.00
  • 2012  – EUR 13,132,873.00
  • 2013  – EUR 17 232 700,00

Management and control system

Management and control system for the Fund is based on collaboration between the following institutions:

  1. Responsible Authority – the Department for the International Cooperation and European Funds, the Ministry of the Interior
  2. Delegated Authority – the European Projects Implementation Centre of the Ministry of the Interior
  3. Certifying Authority – Paying Authority Department, the Ministry of Finance
  4. Audit Authority – General Inspector of Treasury Control

Programming

The Ministry of the Interior has completed its preparatory work for the Multiannual Programme for the External Borders Fund 2007–2013.

The European Commission adopted the relevant document on 12 December 2008.

The objectives of the Funds are pursued in the multiannual programming period 2007–2013. The Multiannual Programme, approved by the European Commission, is implemented through a number of detailed annual programmes. The initial stage consisted in drawing up Multiannual Programmes, and covered a description of the current situation, analysis of the needs and suggested response strategies to be implemented with the use of the fund, as well as identification of key measures to be taken in this area. This task was carried out by the key institutions, in cooperation with the Department for the International Cooperation and European Funds at the Ministry of the Interior.

Five priorities are pursued in the framework of the Multiannual Programme:

  • PRIORITY 1: Supporting further gradual establishment of the common integrated border management system in as regards the checks on persons at and the surveillance of the external borders.
  • PRIORITY 2: Support for the development and implementation of the national components of a European Surveillance System for the external borders and of a permanent European Patrol Network at the southern maritime borders of the EU Members States.
  • PRIORITY 3: Support for the issuing of visas and the tackling of illegal immigration, including the detection of false or falsified documents by enhancing the activities organized by the consular and other services of the member States in third countries
  • PRIORITY 4: Supporting the establishment of IT systems required for implementation of the Community legal instruments in the field of external borders and visas.
  • PRIORITY 5: Support for effective and efficient application of the Community legal instruments in the field of external borders and visas, in particular the Schengen Borders Code and a Community Code on Visas.

Projects implemented as part of the abovementioned Priorities will contribute to the achievement of the following national operational goals:

  1. adjusting the infrastructure at border crossings to European Union standards;
  2. maintenance of a high standard of control and effective protection of EU external borders and ensuring safety of the Schengen zone;
  3. development of surveillance systems at the EU external borders;
  4. increasing the functionality of the ICT infrastructure of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs;
  5. support for biometric infrastructure of consular offices and improvement of data transfer in the visa issuance process;
  6. effective service of visa traffic and foreigner issues;
  7. support for the establishment of IT and communication systems required for full implementation of the Community legal instruments in the field of external borders’ security;
  8. increasing the qualifications of services performing tasks in connection with the protection of the border, Schengen Zone, as well as of the consular services in the field of external borders and visas, in particular the Schengen Borders Code and the European Code on Visas.

Final beneficiaries of the Fund:

  • Headquarters of the Border Guard
  • National Police Headquarters
  • Office for Foreigners
  • Ministry of Foreign Affairs
  • Customs Service
  • Voivodes
  • and
  • Border Guard Centre Training in Koszalin

News

2007 Annual Programme
The submission of applications in the award procedure without a call for proposals under the 2007 Annual Programme ended in January 2009. The amount of funds available in the allocation totalled over EUR 7 million. 17 applications were submitted to the Annual Programme. The implementation of projects under the 2007 Annual Programme was completed. 16 projects had been implemented by the end of 2009.

2008 Annual Programme
The submission of applications in the award procedure without a call for proposals under the 2008 Annual Programme ended in April 2009. The amount of funds available in the 2008 allocation totalled nearly EUR 8 million. 7 applications were submitted under 2008 Annual Programme. By 30 June 2010, 6 projects were implemented.

2009 Annual Programme
The submission of applications in the award procedure without a call for proposals under the 2009 Annual Programme ended in January 2010. The amount of funds available in the allocation totalled over EUR 8 million. 9 applications were submitted under the Annual Programme. Due to savings in the allocation, an additional call for proposals was announced in March 2010, under which 6 additional projects were selected for implementation. The activities under the Annual Programme were completed by 30 June 2011.

2010 Annual Programme
The submission of applications in the award procedure without a call for proposals under the 2010 Annual Programme ended in October 2010. Three projects were selected for implementation. Due to savings in the 2012 allocation, additional call for proposals was announced and 19 applications were submitted. The total amount of funds available in the allocation was over EUR 8 million. The expenditure eligibility period for this allocation expired on 30 June 2012.

2011 Annual Programme
Seven applications in the award procedure without a call for proposals under the 2011 Annual Programme were submitted by January 2012. Nine additional projects were selected in the second call for proposals. The amount of funds available under the allocation totalled over EUR 9.5 million. The expenditure eligibility period for this allocation expired on 30 June 2013.

Annual Programme 2012
In November 2012, the European Commission finally approved the 2012 Annual Programme. 17 projects were recommended for funding. 7 additional applications are currently being assessed in the framework of the 2012 allocation. Available funds in the allocation totalled over EUR 13 million. The implementation deadline for all actions under this Annual Programme is 30 June 2014.

Annual Programme 2013

In October 2013, negotiations with the European Commission regarding the final version of the 2013 Annual Programme were successfully concluded. Upon receiving the formal approval, the Responsible Authority launched a call for proposals whose results are expected by the end of this year. The amount of funds available under the allocation totalled over EUR 17 million.