I527-290 ESRIF Final Report (WEB).indd - European Commission

3. Working Group: Border Security
3.1 Introduction
The objectives of border management are to prevent illicit cross border
activities, while facilitating legitimate movements of persons and goods.
According to the Schengen Borders Code, border control comprises
checks on persons at border crossing points and surveillance between
these border crossing points, as well as an analysis of the risks for internal
security and analysis of the threats that may aff ect the security of the
external borders of the European Union.
All studied scenarios show that in the long-term perspective, the task
of border management to facilitate legitimate border crossings, while
detecting and preventing illicit activities, will remain a critical capability,
given the expected rising cross-border fl ows of people and goods.
Border control is likely to face increasing demands for effi ciency, which implies a need for technical systems that are user-friendly and reliable
in operational conditions. A general challenge is also to make the technical equipment aff ordable enough to be widely employed.
A further general challenge that applies to all scenarios is interoperability. Europe is developing a policy on Integrated Border
Management that calls for integration between diff erent national authorities related to border security, between the Member
States, and fi nally between the Member States and neighbouring third countries.
These measures call for improved interoperability and standards, operational as well as technical, between the diff erent units.
The interoperability challenge concerns many technical systems, including communications and information systems.
In all situations, border guards will need capabilities to collect intelligence and produce a common situational picture to
identify threats and carry out operations.
Required capabilities for border guards largely depend upon the operating environment. For this reason, WG3 activities were
carried out by four task groups covering Border Checks and Land, Maritime, and Air Border Surveillance.
3.2 Threats, risks and challenges
Legitimate border crossings take place at border crossing points on land or at airports and seaports. Crossings of the land and
maritime borders outside of the border crossing points should be detected and prevented.
Naturally, the threats, risks and challenges faced vary depending on the environment. Furthermore, the threats and risks constantly
evolve, as criminal organisations adapt to the development of border control procedures and technologies. It can be assumed
that some organised criminals have enough resources to deploy countermeasures to some border control systems.
In terms of future threats and scenarios, while the threat from terrorists might increase in scenarios with an increased level of
confl ict, other likely challenges depend more on economic conditions. Growing populations in the European neighbourhood,
together with limited improvement in living conditions are likely to create a strong driver for illegal migration.
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