The European Commission proposed to allocate €370.1 million to Member States for actions in the field of border management and visa policy in 2012 under the External Borders Fund. The funds will support investments in Member States and non-EU countries participating in Schengen, in particular those most affected by increased migratory pressures.

In 2012, €370.1 million will be distributed to Member States and associated countries for improving the security at the EU's external borders. The overall budget of the External Borders Fund for 2007-2013 is €1820 million. The amount allocated to national programmes will increase by 35% compared to 2011. The rest will go to transnational actions and actions of interest to the EU (€22.2 million), specific actions at specific border sections (€10 million) and the special transit scheme for Russian citizens travelling to Kaliningrad through Lithuania (€16 million). These amounts are based on the EU 2012 Draft Budget and are therefore still indicative. The final allocations will be communicated after the adoption of the 2012 EU budget.

For next year, the Commission has identified five areas where significant investments should benefit from support by the Fund. These areas are the following:

• Investments at national level for the Schengen Information System II (SIS II), in particular the last necessary investments to complete the national system and the testing phases of the central system;
• Investments at national level for the Visa Information System (VIS) and additional testing, the equipment of all external border crossing points with fingerprint scanners and connection of all consulates to the central system;
• Setting up of national coordination centres in the framework of the European Surveillance System (EUROSUR) project;
• The implementation of state-of-the-art technology equipment for border control (e.g. automatic border controls systems in airports for crossing of external borders);
• The promotion of consular cooperation between Member States for the issuing of visas (notably by setting up common application centres).

Member States will be able to use these additional fund for purchasing equipment, means of transport for border control, developing IT systems, refurbishing the offices for visa handling and providing training to border guards and consular staff. With regard to the distribution among Member States and associated countries, the decision is taken by the Commission on the basis of factual criteria and an assessment of the difficulties and risks associated with the controls of the common external border. It also takes into account the recent events in the Mediterranean region which have prompted large numbers of people to flee the region, some of them towards Europe. Italy will therefore benefit from a significant increase of its allocation, from €32 million in 2011 to €52 million in 2012. Malta, Cyprus, Spain, Greece and France will also benefit from a substantial increase of their allocation.