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This Regulation establishes a mechanism for the purposes of providing rapid operational assistance for a limited period to a requesting Member State facing a situation of urgent and exceptional pressure, especially the arrival at points of the external borders of large numbers of third-country nationals trying to enter the territory of the Member State illegally, in the form of Rapid Border Intervention Teams (hereinafter referred to as teams). This Regulation also defines the tasks to be performed and powers to be exercised by members of the teams during operations in a Member State other than their own.

This Regulation amends EUR as a result of the establishment of the mechanism referred to in paragraph 1 and with a view to defining the tasks to be performed and powers to be exercised by border guards of the Member States participating in joint operations and pilot projects in another Member State.

Necessary technical assistance shall be provided to a requesting Member State in accordance with Articles 7 and 8 of EUR.

This Regulation shall apply without prejudice to the rights of refugees and persons requesting international protection, in particular as regards non-refoulement.

For the purposes of this Regulation, the following definitions shall apply:

‘the Agency’ means the European Agency for the Management of Operational Cooperation at the External Borders of the Member States of the European Union;

‘members of the teams’ means border guards of Member States serving with the Rapid Border Intervention Teams other than those of the host Member State;

‘requesting Member State’ means a Member State whose competent authorities request the Agency to deploy Rapid Border Intervention Teams on its territory;

‘host Member State’ means a Member State on the territory of which a deployment of a Rapid Border Intervention Team takes place;

‘home Member State’ means the Member State of which a member of the team is a border guard.

The composition of teams shall be determined by the Agency in accordance with Article 8 b of EUR as amended by this Regulation. Their deployment shall be governed by Article 8 d of that Regulation.

On a proposal by the Executive Director of the Agency, the Agency’s Management Board shall decide by a three-quarters’ majority on the profiles and the overall number of border guards to be made available for the teams (the Rapid Pool). The same procedure shall apply with regard to any subsequent changes in the profiles and the overall number of border guards of the Rapid Pool. Member States shall contribute to the Rapid Pool via a national expert pool on the basis of the various defined profiles by nominating border guards corresponding to the required profiles.

Member States shall make the border guards available for deployment at the request of the Agency, unless they are faced with an exceptional situation substantially affecting the discharge of national tasks. The autonomy of the home Member State in relation to the selection of staff and the duration of their deployment shall remain unaffected.

The costs relating to the activities referred to in paragraph 1 shall be met by the Agency in accordance with Article 8 h of EUR.

During deployment of the teams, instructions to the teams shall be issued by the host Member State in accordance with the operational plan referred to in Article 8 e of EUR.

The Agency, via its coordinating officer as referred to in Article 8 g of EUR, may communicate its views on those instructions to the host Member State. If it does so, the host Member State shall take those views into consideration.

In accordance with Article 8 g of EUR, the host Member State shall give the coordinating officer all necessary assistance, including full access to the teams at all times throughout the deployment.

Members of the teams shall have the capacity to perform all tasks and exercise all powers for border checks or border surveillance in accordance with Regulation 2006/562 and that are necessary for the realisation of the objectives of that Regulation. The details for each deployment shall be specified in the operational plan of that deployment in accordance with Article 8 e of EUR.

Members of the teams shall, in the performance of their tasks and in the exercise of their powers, fully respect human dignity. Any measures taken in the performance of their tasks and in the exercise of their powers shall be proportionate to the objectives pursued by such measures. While performing their tasks and exercising their powers, members of the teams shall not discriminate against persons on grounds of sex, racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation.

Members of the teams may only perform tasks and exercise powers under instructions from and, as a general rule, in the presence of border guards of the host Member State.

Members of the teams shall wear their own uniform while performing their tasks and exercising their powers. They shall wear a blue armband with the insignia of the European Union and the Agency on their uniforms, identifying them as participating in a deployment of the teams. For the purposes of identification vis-à-vis the national authorities of the host Member State and its citizens, members of the teams shall at all times carry an accreditation document, as provided for in Article 8, which they shall present on request.

While performing their tasks and exercising their powers, members of the teams may carry service weapons, ammunition and equipment as authorised according to the home Member State’s national law. However, the host Member State may prohibit the carrying of certain service weapons, ammunition and equipment, provided that its own legislation applies the same prohibition to its own border guards. The host Member State shall, in advance of the deployment of the teams, inform the Agency of the permissible service weapons, ammunition and equipment and of the conditions for their use. The Agency shall make this information available to all Member States participating in the deployment.

While performing their tasks and exercising their powers, members of the teams shall be authorised to use force, including service weapons, ammunition and equipment, with the consent of the home Member State and the host Member State, in the presence of border guards of the host Member State and in accordance with the national law of the host Member State.

By way of derogation from paragraph 6, service weapons, ammunition and equipment may be used in legitimate self-defence and in legitimate defence of members of the teams or of other persons, in accordance with the national law of the host Member State.

For the purpose of this Regulation, the host Member State may authorise the members of the teams to consult its national and European databases which are necessary for border checks and surveillance. The members of the teams shall consult only those data which are required for performing their tasks and exercising their powers. The host Member State shall, in advance of the deployment of the teams, inform the Agency of the national and European databases which may be consulted. The Agency shall make this information available to all Member States participating in the deployment.

The consultation as referred to in paragraph 8 shall be carried out in accordance with Community law and the national law of the host Member State in the area of data protection.

Decisions to refuse entry in accordance with Article 13 of Regulation 2006/562 shall be taken only by border guards of the host Member State.

Members of the teams shall remain national border guards of their home Member States and shall be paid by them.

Border guards who are made available to the Rapid Pool pursuant to Article 4 shall participate in advanced training relevant to their tasks and powers as well as in the regular exercises conducted by the Agency in accordance with Article 8 c of EUR.

Border guards shall receive a daily subsistence allowance, including accommodation costs, for the duration of their participation in training and exercises organised by the Agency and of their periods of deployment in accordance with Article 8 h of EUR.

The Agency shall, in cooperation with the host Member State, issue a document in the official language of the host Member State and another official language of the institutions of the European Union to members of the teams for the purpose of identifying them and as proof of the holder’s rights to perform the tasks and exercise the powers as referred to in Article 6(1). The document shall include the following features of the member of the team:

name and nationality;

rank; and

a recent digitised photograph.

The document shall be returned to the Agency at the end of the deployment of the team.

While performing the tasks and exercising the powers as referred to in Article 6(1), the members of the teams shall comply with Community law and the national law of the host Member State.

While performing the tasks and exercising the powers as referred to in Article 6(1), the members of the teams shall remain subject to the disciplinary measures of their home Member State.

Specific rules concerning the carrying and use of service weapons, ammunition and equipment, as well as the use of force are set out in Article 6(5), (6) and (7).

Specific rules concerning civil and criminal liability are set out in Articles 10 and 11 respectively.

Where members of the teams are operating in a host Member State, that Member State shall be liable in accordance with its national law for any damage caused by them during their operations.

Where such damage is caused by gross negligence or wilful misconduct, the host Member State may approach the home Member State in order to have any sums it has paid to the victims or persons entitled on their behalf reimbursed by the home Member State.

Without prejudice to the exercise of its rights vis-à-vis third parties, each Member State shall waive all its claims against the host Member State or any other Member State for any damage it has sustained, except in cases of gross negligence or wilful misconduct.

Any dispute between Member States relating to the application of paragraphs 2 and 3 which cannot be resolved by negotiations between them shall be submitted by them to the Court of Justice of the European Communities in accordance with Article 239 of the Treaty.

Without prejudice to the exercise of its rights vis-à-vis third parties, the Agency shall meet costs related to damage caused to the Agency’s equipment during deployment, except in cases of gross negligence or wilful misconduct.

During the deployment of the teams, members of the teams shall be treated in the same way as officials of the host Member State with regard to any criminal offences that might be committed against them or by them.

EUR is hereby amended as follows:

Article 1(4) shall be deleted;

the following Article shall be inserted:

in Article 2(1), the following point shall be added: ( *1 ) OJ L 199, 31.7.2007, p. 30 .’ "

deploy Rapid Border Intervention Teams to Member States in accordance with Regulation 2007/863 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 July 2007 establishing a mechanism for the creation of Rapid Border Intervention Teams and amending Council EUR as regards that mechanism and regulating the tasks and powers of guest officers ( *1 ) .

Article 8(3) shall be replaced by the following:

the following Articles shall be inserted:

Article 10 shall be replaced by the following: ( *2 ) OJ L 105, 13.4.2006, p. 1 .’ "

The Commission shall evaluate the application of this Regulation one year after its entry into force and present a report to the European Parliament and the Council accompanied, if necessary, by proposals to amend this Regulation.

This Regulation shall enter into force on the 20th day following its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union . Official Journal of the European Union

The European Parliament, the Council and the Commission stress that in a situation of urgent and exceptional pressure at the external borders requiring the intervention of a Rapid Border Intervention Team, and possible insufficiency of financial means in the budget of the European Agency for the Management of Operational Cooperation at the External Borders of the Member States of the European Union (FRONTEX) to do so, all possibilities to ensure funding should be explored. The Commission will verify with extreme urgency whether funds could possibly be redeployed. In the event of a decision of the budgetary authority becoming necessary, the Commission will initiate a procedure in accordance with the provisions of the Financial Regulation, namely Articles 23 and 24, in order to secure a timely decision of the two arms of the budgetary authority on the means of providing for additional funding for FRONTEX to deploy a Rapid Border Intervention Team. The budgetary authority commits itself to act as quickly as possible, taking into account the urgency.