http://www.legislation.gov.uk/eur/2019/1896/chapter/II/section/6Regulation (EU) 2019/1896 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 November 2019 on the European Border and Coast Guard and repealing Regulations (EU) No 1052/2013 and (EU) 2016/1624Regulation (EU) 2019/1896 of the European Parliament and of the CouncilRegulation (EU) 2019/1896 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 November 2019 on the European Border and Coast Guard and repealing Regulations (EU) No 1052/2013 and (EU) 2016/16242020-12-12King's Printer of Acts of Parliamenthttps://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/eu-exit/https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32019R1896texttext/xmlen2019-11-13 CHAPTER II <Strong>FUNCTIONING OF THE EUROPEAN BORDER AND COAST GUARD</Strong> SECTION 6 <Emphasis> <Strong>Prevention and responsiveness</Strong> </Emphasis> Determination of external border sections Article 30 For the purposes of this Regulation, each Member State shall divide its external borders into external border sections. Those sections shall consist of land, sea and, where a Member State so decides, air border sections. Each Member State shall notify such external border sections to the Agency. Member States shall notify any change of external border sections to the Agency in a timely manner to ensure the continuity of risk analysis by the Agency. Agency liaison officers in Member States Article 31 1 The Agency shall ensure the regular monitoring of all Member States' management of the external borders and return through liaison officers of the Agency. The Agency may decide that a liaison officer covers up to four Member States which are geographically close to each other. 2 The executive director shall appoint experts from the statutory staff to be deployed as liaison officers. The executive director shall, on the basis of risk analysis and in consultation with the Member States concerned, make a proposal on the nature and terms of the deployment, the Member State or region to which a liaison officer may be deployed and possible tasks not covered by paragraph 3. The proposal from the executive director shall be subject to approval by the management board. The executive director shall notify the Member State concerned of the appointment and shall determine, together with that Member State, the location of deployment. 3 The liaison officers shall act on behalf of the Agency, and their role shall be to foster cooperation and dialogue between the Agency and the national authorities responsible for border management, including coast guards to the extent that they carry out border control tasks, as well as the national authorities responsible for return. The liaison officers shall, in particular: a act as an interface between the Agency and the national authorities responsible for border management, including coast guards to the extent that they carry out border control tasks, as well as the national authorities responsible for return; b support the collection of information required by the Agency for the monitoring of illegal immigration and risk analyses referred to in Article 29; c support the collection of information referred to in Article 32 and required by the Agency to carry out vulnerability assessments and prepare a report for that purpose; d monitor the measures taken by the Member State at external border sections to which a high or critical impact level has been attributed in accordance with Article 34; e contribute to promoting the application of the Union acquis relating to the management of the external borders and return, including with regard to respect for fundamental rights; f cooperate with the fundamental rights officer, where necessary, with a view to promoting respect for fundamental rights in the work of the Agency in line with point (e); g where possible, assist the Member States in preparing their contingency plans concerning border management; h facilitate the communication between the Member State concerned and the Agency, share relevant information from the Agency with the Member State concerned, including information about ongoing operations; i report regularly and directly to the executive director on the situation at the external borders and the capacity of the Member State concerned to deal effectively with the situation at the external borders; report also on the execution of return operations towards relevant third countries; j monitor the measures taken by the Member State with regard to a situation requiring urgent action at the external borders as referred to in Article 42; k monitor the measures taken by the Member State with regard to return and support the collection of information required by the Agency to carry out the activities referred to in Article 48. 4 If the reporting by the liaison officer referred to in point (i) of paragraph 3 raises concerns about one or more aspects relevant for the Member State concerned, the executive director shall inform that Member State without delay. 5 For the purposes of paragraph 3, the liaison officer shall, in compliance with the national and Union security and data protection rules: a receive information from the national coordination centre concerned and the relevant national situational picture established in accordance with Article 25; b keep regular contacts with national authorities which are responsible for border management, including coast guards to the extent that they carry out border control tasks, as well as the national authorities responsible for return, whilst informing the national contact point concerned. 6 The report of the liaison officer referred to in point (c) of paragraph 3 of this Article shall form part of the vulnerability assessment referred to in Article 32. The report shall be transmitted to the Member State concerned. 7 In carrying out their duties, the liaison officers shall take instructions only from the Agency. Vulnerability assessment Article 32 1 The Agency shall establish a common vulnerability assessment methodology by decision of the management board, on the basis of a proposal from the executive director prepared in close cooperation with the Member States and the Commission. That methodology shall include objective criteria against which the Agency shall carry out the vulnerability assessment, the frequency of such assessments, how consecutive vulnerability assessments are to be carried out, and arrangements for an effective system for monitoring the implementation of recommendations of the executive director as referred to in paragraph 7. 2 The Agency shall monitor and assess the availability of the technical equipment, systems, capabilities, resources, infrastructure and adequately skilled and trained staff of Member States necessary for border control as referred to in point (a) of Article 3(1). In that context, the Agency shall assess the national capability development plans referred to in Article 9(4) as regards the capacity to perform border control taking into account the fact that some national capabilities may be partially used for purposes other than border control. For future planning, the Agency shall carry out such monitoring and assessment as a preventive measure on the basis of the risk analyses prepared in accordance with Article 29(2). The Agency shall carry out such monitoring and assessment at least once a year, unless the executive director, on the basis of risk analysis or a previous vulnerability assessment, decides otherwise. In any event, each Member State shall be subject to monitoring and assessment at least once every three years. 3 Without prejudice to Article 9, Member States shall, at the request of the Agency, provide information as regards technical equipment, staff and, to the extent possible, the financial resources available at national level to carry out border control. Member States shall also provide information on their contingency plans on border management at the Agency's request. 4 The aim of the vulnerability assessment is for the Agency: to assess the capacity and readiness of Member States to face present and upcoming challenges at the external borders; to identify, especially for those Member States facing specific and disproportionate challenges, possible immediate consequences at the external borders and subsequent consequences on the functioning of the Schengen area; to assess their capacity to contribute to the standing corps and to the technical equipment pool, including the rapid reaction equipment pool; and to assess the hosting capacity of Member States with regard to support from the European Border and Coast Guard in line with Article 9(3). That assessment shall be without prejudice to the Schengen evaluation mechanism. 5 In the vulnerability assessment, the Agency shall assess, in qualitative and quantitative terms, the Member States' capacity to carry out all border management tasks, including their capacity to deal with the potential arrival of large numbers of persons on their territory. 6 The preliminary results of the vulnerability assessment shall be submitted to the Member States concerned. The Member States concerned may comment on that assessment. 7 Where necessary, the executive director, in consultation with the Member State concerned, shall make a recommendation setting out the necessary measures to be taken by the Member State concerned and the time limit within which such measures are to be implemented. The executive director shall invite the Member States concerned to take the necessary measures on the basis of an action plan developed by the Member State in consultation with the executive director. 8 The executive director shall base the measures to be recommended to the Member States concerned on the results of the vulnerability assessment, taking into account the Agency's risk analysis, the comments of the Member State concerned and the results of the Schengen evaluation mechanism. The recommended measures shall be aimed at eliminating the vulnerabilities identified in the assessment in order for Member States to increase their readiness to face present and upcoming challenges at the external borders by enhancing or improving their capabilities, technical equipment, systems, resources and contingency plans. The executive director may offer the technical expertise of the Agency to the Member States to support the implementation of the recommended measures. 9 The executive director shall monitor the implementation of the recommended measures by means of regular reports to be submitted by the Member States on the basis of the action plans referred to in paragraph 7. Where there is a risk that a Member State will not implement a recommended measure within the time limit set in accordance with paragraph 7, the executive director shall immediately inform the member of the management board from the Member State concerned and the Commission. In consultation with the member of the management board from the Member State concerned, the executive director shall enquire of the relevant authorities of that Member State about the reasons for the delay and offer support by the Agency to facilitate the implementation of the measure recommended. 10 Where a Member State does not implement the necessary measures of the recommendation within the time limit set in accordance with paragraph 7 of this Article, the executive director shall refer the matter to the management board and notify the Commission. The management board shall adopt a decision on the basis of a proposal from the executive director, setting out the necessary measures to be taken by the Member State concerned and the time limit within which such measures are to be implemented. The decision of the management board shall be binding on the Member State. If the Member State does not implement the measures within the time limit provided for in that decision, the management board shall notify the Council and the Commission and further action may be taken in accordance with Article 42. 11 The vulnerability assessment, including a detailed description of the outcome of the vulnerability assessment, the measures taken by the Member States in response to the vulnerability assessment and the status of the implementation of any measures previously recommended, shall be transmitted, in accordance with Article 92, on a regular basis and at least once a year to the European Parliament, to the Council and to the Commission. Synergies between the vulnerability assessment and the Schengen evaluation mechanism Article 33 1 The synergies between the vulnerability assessment and the Schengen evaluation mechanism shall be maximised in order to establish an improved situational picture on the functioning of the Schengen area, avoiding, to the extent possible, the duplication of efforts on the Member States' side, and ensuring a better coordinated use of the relevant Union financial instruments supporting the management of the external borders. 2 For the purpose referred to in paragraph 1, the Commission and the Agency shall establish the necessary arrangements to share with each other in a regular, secured and timely manner all information related to the results of vulnerability assessments and the results of the evaluations carried out within the framework of the Schengen evaluation mechanism in the area of border management. Those information-sharing arrangements shall cover the reports of vulnerability assessments and reports of Schengen evaluation visits, subsequent recommendations, action plans and any updates on the implementation of the action plans provided by the Member States. 3 For the purposes of the Schengen evaluation mechanism as it relates to external border management, the Commission shall share the results of the vulnerability assessments with all the members of the Schengen evaluation teams involved in the evaluation of the Member State concerned. Such information shall be considered sensitive within the meaning of Regulation (EU) No 1053/2013 and shall be treated accordingly. 4 The arrangements referred to in paragraph 2 shall cover results of the evaluations carried out within the framework of the Schengen evaluation mechanism in the area of return to ensure the full awareness of the Agency of the identified deficiencies in view of enabling it to propose appropriate measures to support Member States concerned in that regard. Attribution of impact levels to external border sections Article 34 1 On the basis of the Agency's risk analysis and vulnerability assessment and in agreement with the Member State concerned, the Agency shall attribute the following impact levels to each external border section or change such levels: a low impact level where the incidents related to illegal immigration or cross-border crime occurring at the relevant border section have an insignificant impact on border security; b medium impact level where the incidents related to illegal immigration or cross-border crime occurring at the relevant border section have a moderate impact on border security; c high impact level where the incidents related to illegal immigration or cross-border crime occurring at the relevant border section have a significant impact on border security. 2 In order to swiftly address a crisis situation at a particular external border section, where the Agency's risk analysis shows that incidents related to illegal immigration or cross-border crime occurring at the relevant external border section have a decisive impact on border security to such an extent that they risk jeopardising the functioning of the Schengen area, the Agency shall, in agreement with the Member State concerned, temporarily attribute a ‘critical’ impact level to that external border section. 3 Where there is no agreement between the Member State concerned and the Agency on the attribution of an impact level to an external border section, the impact level that was previously attributed to that border section shall remain unchanged. 4 The national coordination centre shall constantly assess in close cooperation with other competent national authorities whether there is a need to change the impact level of any of the external border sections by taking into account the information contained in the national situational picture and inform the Agency accordingly. 5 The Agency shall indicate the impact levels attributed to the external border sections in the European situational picture. Reaction corresponding to impact levels Article 35 1 The Member States shall ensure that border control at the external border sections corresponds to the attributed impact levels in the following manner: a where a low impact level is attributed to an external border section, the national authorities responsible for external border control shall organise regular border control on the basis of risk analysis and ensure that sufficient personnel and resources are being kept available for that border section; b where a medium impact level is attributed to an external border section, the national authorities responsible for external border control shall, in addition to the measures taken under point (a) of this paragraph, ensure that appropriate border control measures are being taken at that border section; where such border control measures are taken, the national coordination centre shall be notified accordingly; the national coordination centre shall coordinate any support given in accordance with Article 21(3); c where a high impact level is attributed to an external border section, the Member State concerned, in addition to the measures taken under point (b) of this paragraph, shall ensure, through the national coordination centre, that the national authorities operating at that border section are given the necessary support and that reinforced border control measures are taken; that Member State may request support from the Agency subject to the conditions for initiating joint operations or rapid border interventions as laid down in Article 36; d where a critical impact level is attributed to an external border section, the Agency shall notify the Commission thereof; the executive director, in addition to the measures taken under point (c) of this paragraph, shall issue a recommendation in accordance with Article 41(1), taking into account the ongoing support by the Agency; the Member State concerned shall respond to the recommendation in accordance with Article 41(2). 2 The national coordination centres shall regularly inform the Agency of the measures taken at national level pursuant to points (c) and (d) of paragraph 1. 3 Where a medium, high or critical impact level is attributed to an external border section which is adjacent to the border section of another Member State or of a third country with which agreements, arrangements or regional networks, as referred to in Articles 72 and 73, are in place, the national coordination centre shall contact the national coordination centre of the neighbouring Member State or the competent authority of the neighbouring third country and shall endeavour to coordinate together with the Agency the necessary cross-border measures. 4 The Agency shall, together with the Member State concerned, evaluate the attribution of impact levels and the corresponding measures taken at national and Union level. That evaluation shall contribute to the vulnerability assessment to be carried out by the Agency in accordance with Article 32.