Europe’s external borders have seen an unprecedented rise in the number of migrants and refugees wishing to enter the EU in recent years. The plans, adopted by MEPs on 17 April, will see the EU agency equipped with a standing corps of 10,000 border guards by 2027 and allow for more efficient returns in the case of non-EU nationals without a right to stay. The standing corps will consist of staff members employed by the agency as well as staff seconded on a mandatory basis by EU countries.

Maltese EPP member Roberta Metsola, the MEP responsible for steering the plans through Parliament, said: “You have to be fair with those who deserve protection, harsh with those prey on the vulnerable and firm with those who seek to break the rules.”