The year 2025 brought important anniversaries to the European Border and Coast Guard community - 40 years of the Schengen Agreement and 20 years of Frontex are truly important milestones.
The Agency‘s vulnerability assessment function is still two years short of its first round anniversary. With the important inputs from border guard colleagues in the 29 Member States and Schengen Associated Countries, this year we shared the eighth edition of individual country assessments with our stakeholders on Thursday, 26 June.
The overall results are encouraging - the total number of identified vulnerabilities concerning the capacities and preparedness of border control in our Member States show a relevant overall downward trend. Less vulnerabilities and, potentially, less recommended measures for remedial action down the line do however not automatically translate into a situation where all is just fine at the European external borders. For that, the geopolitical faults at our doorstep are too manyfold, furthermore, the digitalisation of borders might herald new challenges of which currently only rough contours have become visible.
Together we will set out to implement remedies - all this with one common goal: to ensure today‘s external borders of the European Union remain secure tomorrow
