Regulation (EU) 2019/1896 of the European Parliament and of the CouncilShow full title

Article 63 U.K. Acquisition or leasing of technical equipment

1. The Agency may acquire, either on its own or as co-owner with a Member State, or lease technical equipment to be deployed during joint operations, pilot projects, rapid border interventions, activities in the area of return, including return operations and return interventions, migration management support team deployments or technical assistance projects in accordance with the financial rules applicable to the Agency.

2. On the basis of a proposal from the executive director, the management board shall adopt a comprehensive multiannual strategy on how the Agency's own technical capabilities are to be developed taking into account the multiannual strategic policy cycle for European integrated border management, including the capability roadmap referred to in Article 9(8), where available, and the budgetary resources made available for that purpose in the multiannual financial framework. To ensure compliance with the applicable legal, financial and policy frameworks, the executive director shall only make the proposal after receiving the positive opinion of the Commission.

The multiannual strategy shall be accompanied by a detailed implementation plan specifying the timeline for acquisition or leasing, procurement planning and risk mitigation. If the management board, when adopting the strategy and the plan, decides to depart from the opinion of the Commission, it shall provide the Commission with a justification for doing so. Following the adoption of the multiannual strategy, the implementation plan shall become part of the multiannual programming component of the single programing document referred to in point (k) of Article 100(2).

3. The Agency may acquire technical equipment by decision of the executive director in consultation with the management board in accordance with the applicable procurement rules. Any acquisition or leasing of equipment entailing significant costs to the Agency shall be preceded by a thorough needs and cost-benefit analysis. Any expenditure related to such acquisition or leasing shall be provided for in the Agency's budget adopted by the management board.

4. Where the Agency acquires or leases major technical equipment such as aircraft, service vehicles or vessels, the following conditions shall apply:

(a) in the case of an acquisition by the Agency or co-ownership, the Agency shall agree with one Member State that that Member State is to provide that the equipment be registered as being on government service in accordance with the applicable law of that Member State, including prerogatives and immunities for such technical equipment under international law;

(b) in the case of leasing, the equipment shall be registered in a Member State.

5. On the basis of a model agreement drawn up by the Agency and approved by the management board, the Member State of registration and the Agency shall agree on terms ensuring the operability of the equipment. In the case of co-owned assets, the terms shall also cover the periods of full availability of the assets for the Agency and determine the use of those assets, including specific provisions on rapid deployment during rapid border interventions and the financing of those assets.

6. Where the Agency does not have the required qualified statutory staff, the Member State of registration or the supplier of technical equipment shall provide the necessary experts and technical crew to operate the technical equipment in a legally sound and safe manner in accordance with the model agreement referred to in paragraph 5 of this Article and planned on the basis of the annual bilateral negotiations and agreements referred to in Article 64(9). In such a case, technical equipment owned solely by the Agency shall be made available to the Agency upon its request and the Member State of registration may not invoke the exceptional situation referred to in Article 64(9).

When requesting a Member State to provide technical equipment and staff, the Agency shall take into account the particular operational challenges facing that Member State at the time of the request.