MOSCOW (Sputnik) – The European Union’s border agency Frontex will patrol the bloc’s external aerial borders in the wake of this year’s migrant crisis, Frontex Executive Director Fabrice Leggeri said Wednesday.
"So far Frontex had to rely to a large extent on the support of member states when it comes to observing the air borders," Leggeri told Germany’s Die Welt publication.
The Frontex chief specified that the agency had installed surveillance cameras in Bulgaria, in September, as part of its border patrol plan, gaining firsthand data for evaluation.
Leggeri further explained that the agency would provide "useful advice" to countries experiencing a large-scale migrant influx. Should a member state refuse to take part in Frontex’s border protection plan, its power "could pass through the European Commission."
"The measures would be binding. However, our agency would in return agree to support member states in its implementation," Leggeri said.
Over 1.2 million illegal border crossings have been detected by Frontex since the beginning of 2015.
The European Commission unveiled a plan last week to set up, by late June 2016, a new 1,500-person border and coastguard agency with the "right to intervene" in EU member states overwhelmed by the migrant influx.
