the objectives of financial support and the eligible actions;

the general framework for the implementation of the eligible actions;

the resources made available under the Instrument from 1 January 2014 to 31 December 2020 and their distribution;

the scope and purpose of the different specific means through which the expenditure for the management of the external borders and the common visa policy is financed.

supporting a common visa policy to facilitate legitimate travel, provide a high quality of service to visa applicants, ensure equal treatment of third-country nationals and tackle illegal immigration;

supporting integrated border management, including promoting further harmonisation of border management-related measures in accordance with common Union standards and through the sharing of information between Member States and between Member States and the Frontex Agency, to ensure, on one hand, a uniform and high level of control and protection of the external borders, including by the tackling of illegal immigration and, on the other hand, the smooth crossing of the external borders in conformity with the Schengen acquis, while guaranteeing access to international protection for those needing it, in accordance with the obligations contracted by the Member States in the field of human rights, including the principle of non-refoulement.

promoting the development, implementation and enforcement of policies with a view to ensuring the absence of any controls on persons, whatever their nationality, when crossing the internal borders, and to carrying out checks on persons and monitoring efficiently the crossing of external borders;

gradually establishing an integrated management system for external borders, based on solidarity and responsibility, in particular by means of:

promoting the development and implementation of the common policy on visas and other short-stay residence permits, and of different forms of consular cooperation in order to ensure better consular coverage and harmonised practices on visa issuing;

setting up and running IT systems, their communication infrastructure and equipment that support the common visa policy, border checks and border surveillance at the external borders and fully respect personal data protection law;

reinforcing situational awareness at the external borders and the reaction capabilities of Member States;

ensuring the efficient and uniform application of the Union’s acquis on borders and visas, including the effective functioning of the Schengen evaluation and monitoring mechanism;

reinforcing actions by the Member States contributing to enhancing the cooperation between Member States operating in third countries as regards the flows of third-country nationals into the territory of Member States, including prevention and tackling of illegal immigration, as well as the cooperation with third countries in that respect in full coherence with the objectives and principles of Union external action and humanitarian policy.

infrastructures, buildings and systems required at border crossing points and for surveillance between border crossing points to prevent and tackle unauthorised border crossings, illegal immigration and cross-border criminality as well as to guarantee smooth travel flows;

operating equipment, means of transport and communication systems required for effective and secure border control and the detection of persons;

IT and communication systems for the efficient management of migration flows across borders, including investment in existing and future systems;

infrastructures, buildings, communication and IT systems and operating equipment required for the processing of visa applications and consular cooperation, as well as other actions aimed at improving the quality of service for visa applicants;

training in the use of the equipment and systems referred to in points (b), (c) and (d) and the promotion of quality management standards and training of border guards, including where appropriate in third countries, with respect to the performance of their surveillance, advisory and control tasks in compliance with international human rights law, including the identification of victims of human trafficking and people smuggling;

secondment of immigration liaisons officers and document advisers in third countries and the exchange and secondment of border guards between Member States or between a Member State and a third country;

studies, training, pilot projects and other actions gradually establishing an integrated management system for external borders as referred to in Article 3(3), including actions aiming to foster interagency cooperation either within Member States or between Member States and actions relating to the interoperability and harmonisation of border management systems;

studies, pilot projects and actions aiming to implement the recommendations, operational standards and best practices resulting from the operational cooperation between Member States and Union agencies.

information systems, tools or equipment for sharing information between Member States and third countries;

actions relating to operational cooperation between Member States and third countries, including joint operations;

projects in third countries aimed at improving surveillance systems to ensure cooperation with Eurosur;

studies, seminars, workshops, conferences, training, equipment and pilot projects to provide ad hoc technical and operational expertise to third countries;

studies, seminars, workshops, conferences, training, equipment and pilot projects implementing specific recommendations, operational standards and best practices resulting from operational cooperation between Member States and Union agencies in third countries.

national programmes, in accordance with Articles 9 and 12;

operating support, within the framework of the national programmes and under the conditions laid down in Article 10;

the Special Transit Scheme, in accordance with Article 11;

Union actions, in accordance with Article 13;

emergency assistance, in accordance with Article 14;

the implementation of a programme for setting up IT systems supporting the management of migration flows across the external borders under the conditions laid down in Article 15;

technical assistance in accordance with Article 16.

EUR 1 551  million for the national programmes of Member States;

EUR 791 million for developing IT systems, based on existing and/or new IT systems, supporting the management of migration flows across the external borders, subject to the adoption of the relevant Union legislative acts;

Where that amount is not allocated or spent, the Commission shall, by means of a delegated act in accordance with Article 17, re-allocate it to one or more of the activities referred to in points (b) and (c) of Article 6(1)and point (d) of this paragraph. That delegated act shall include an assessment of the evolution of the relevant IT systems including the implementation of the budget and expected unspent amounts. That re-allocation may take place following the adoption of the relevant legislative acts or on the occasion of the mid-term review referred to in Article 8.

EUR 154 million for the Special Transit Scheme;

EUR 264 million for Union actions, emergency assistance and technical assistance at the initiative of the Commission, of which at least 30 % shall be used for Union actions.

EUR 1 276  million, as indicated in Annex I;

EUR 147 million, based on the results of the mechanism referred to in Article 7;

in the framework of the mid-term review referred to in Article 8 and for the period as of budget year 2018, EUR 128 million, the remainder of the available appropriations under this Article or another amount, as determined pursuant to paragraph 4, based on the results of the risk analysis and the mid-term review.

at least 10 % for actions relating to point (a) of Article 9(2);

at least 25 % for actions relating to point (b) of Article 9(2);

at least 5 % for actions relating to points (c), (d), (e) and (f) of Article 9(2).

45 % for external maritime borders;

38 % for external land borders;

17 % for airports.

coefficient 0,5 for minimum threat;

coefficient 1 for normal threat;

coefficient 3 for medium threat;

coefficient 5 for high threat.

50 % on the basis of the number of persons crossing the external borders;

50 % on the basis of the number of third-country nationals refused entry at the external borders.

burden in border management at the external borders;

factors that affected security at the external borders of the Member States in the period 2014-2016;

changes in Union policies, for example visa policies;

possible future trends in migratory flows and risks of unlawful activities related to the irregular crossing of persons of the external borders; and

likely political, economic and social developments in third countries, and in particular, neighbouring countries.

the line between the areas referred to in Article 1 of Council Regulation (EC) No 866/2004 ( 8 ), but not the maritime border north of that line, shall be taken into account even though it does not constitute an external land border for as long as Article 1 of Protocol No 10 on Cyprus to the 2003 Act of Accession remains applicable;

the expression ‘external maritime borders’ shall mean the outer limit of the territorial sea of the Member States as defined in accordance with Articles 4 to 16 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. However, in cases where long range operations are required on a regular basis in order to prevent unauthorised border crossings, that expression shall mean the outer limit of high threat areas. Those outer limits shall be determined by taking into account the relevant data on these operations in 2014-2016 as provided by the Member States in question.

developing Eurosur in accordance with Union law and guidelines;

supporting and expanding the existing capacity at national level in visa policy and in the management of the external borders, as well as supporting and expanding measures within the area of free movement relating to the management of external borders, bearing in mind in particular, new technology, developments and/or standards in relation to the management of migration flows;

supporting the further development of the management of migration flows by consular and other services of the Member States in third countries, including the setting up of consular cooperation mechanisms with a view to facilitating legitimate travel in accordance with Union law or the law of the Member State concerned and preventing illegal immigration into the Union;

reinforcing integrated border management by testing and introducing new tools, interoperable systems and working methods which aim to enhance information exchange within the Member State or to improve inter-agency cooperation;

developing projects with a view to ensuring a uniform and high level of control of the external border in accordance with common Union standards and aiming at increased interoperability of border management systems between Member States;

supporting actions, after consulting the Frontex Agency, aimed at promoting further harmonisation of border management and in particular technological capabilities, in accordance with common Union standards;

ensuring the correct and uniform application of the Union acquis on border control and visas in response to weaknesses identified at Union level, as shown by results established in the framework of the Schengen evaluation and monitoring mechanism;

building the capacity to face upcoming challenges, including present and future threats and pressures at the external borders, taking into account in particular the analyses carried out by relevant Union agencies.

compliance with the Union acquis on borders and visas;

compliance with the objectives of the national programme;

compliance with common Union standards in order to enhance coordination between Member States and avoid duplication, fragmentation and cost inefficiency in the border control domain.

to support preparatory, monitoring, administrative and technical activities, required to implement external borders and visa policies, including to strengthen the governance of the Schengen area by developing and implementing the evaluation mechanism as established by Regulation (EU) No 1053/2013 to verify the application of the Schengen acquis and the Schengen Borders Code, in particular mission expenditure for experts of the Commission and the Member States participating in on site visits;

to improve the knowledge and understanding of the situation prevailing in the Member States and third countries through the analysis, evaluation and close monitoring of policies;

to support the development of statistical tools, including common statistical tools, methods and common indicators;

to support and monitor the implementation of Union law and Union policy objectives in the Member States, and assess their effectiveness and impact, including with regard to respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, as far as the scope of the Instrument is concerned;

to promote networking, mutual learning, identification and dissemination of best practices and innovative approaches amongst different stakeholders at European level;

to promote projects aiming at harmonisation and interoperability of border management-related measures in accordance with common Union standards with a view to developing an integrated European border management system;

to enhance awareness of Union policies and objectives among stakeholders and the general public, including corporate communication on the political priorities of the Union;

to boost the capacity of European networks to assess, promote, support and further develop Union policies and objectives;

to support particularly innovative projects developing new methods and/or technologies with a potential for transferability to other Member States, especially projects which aim to test and validate research projects;

to support actions in relation to and in third countries as referred to in Article 4(2).