Controversial plans for an EU Border and Coast Guard force are to be set out on Tuesday - part of an EU drive to curb the record influx of migrants. Some national governments are wary of granting the EU new powers in such a sensitive area of sovereignty. The European Commission is proposing a force with a stronger mandate than the EU's current Frontex border teams. Poland says it will oppose any move to send in EU border guards without the host country's approval. Polish Foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowski said such powers "would mean that this would be an undemocratic structure, not controlled by the member states". But he said strengthening Frontex "is necessary in every sense"....Frontex - an EU agency based in Poland - is already poised to send border guards to Greece, where almost 800,000 migrants have arrived by sea this year. Most of them are refugees from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan. Frontex says its role is to help enforce border controls, but the deployed officers work "under the command and control of the authorities" in the host country. The deployment on the Greek islands near Turkey will boost the number of land and sea patrols, meaning more migrants will be identified and properly registered, a Frontex statement said. Of those who have come ashore this year only one in five was intercepted by border guards, Frontex said.Controversial plans for an EU Border and Coast Guard force are to be set out on Tuesday - part of an EU drive to curb the record influx of migrants. Some national governments are wary of granting the EU new powers in such a sensitive area of sovereignty. The European Commission is proposing a force with a stronger mandate than the EU's current Frontex border teams. Poland says it will oppose any move to send in EU border guards without the host country's approval. Polish Foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowski said such powers "would mean that this would be an undemocratic structure, not controlled by the member states". But he said strengthening Frontex "is necessary in every sense"....Frontex - an EU agency based in Poland - is already poised to send border guards to Greece, where almost 800,000 migrants have arrived by sea this year. Most of them are refugees from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan. Frontex says its role is to help enforce border controls, but the deployed officers work "under the command and control of the authorities" in the host country. The deployment on the Greek islands near Turkey will boost the number of land and sea patrols, meaning more migrants will be identified and properly registered, a Frontex statement said. Of those who have come ashore this year only one in five was intercepted by border guards, Frontex said.
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