The EU’s beefed-up version of its struggling border force went into operation Thursday, in a rare show of unity by the squabbling bloc trying to find a common strategy to tackle its worst migration crisis since World War II.

European Union officials inaugurated the new task force at the Kapitan-Andreevo checkpoint on the Bulgarian-Turkish border, the main land frontier via which migrants try to enter the bloc to avoid the dangerous Mediterranean sea crossing.

The European Border and Coast Guard Agency (EBCG) will have at the ready some 1,500 officers from 19 member states who can be swiftly mobilized in case of emergency such as a sudden rush of migrants.

Brussels hopes the revamped agency will not just increase security, but also help heal the huge rifts that have emerged between western and eastern member states clashing over the EU’s refugee policies.

The long-term goal is to lift the border controls inside the bloc and restore the passport-free Schengen Zone.

“The new agency is stronger and better equipped to tackle migration and security challenges,” EBCG director Fabrice Leggeri said in a statement.

Crucially, the force will conduct “stress tests at the external borders to identify vulnerabilities before a crisis hits”, he added.

EU Migration Commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos hailed the inauguration as a “milestone” of “shared responsibility and solidarity”.

“From now onwards, the external EU border of one member state is the external border of all member states — both legally and operationally,” he said in a statement.

Source: AFP