ABSTRACT
Since the entry into force of the Treaty of Amsterdam in 1999 the progressive creation of an 'area of freedom, security and justice' has become one of the fundamental objectives of the European Union. Cooperation between member states regarding issues of external border security started in a systematic way in the second half of the 1980s within the Schengen context. The Laeken European Council of 14 and 15 December 2001 arrived at a carefully worded compromise on cooperation on external border issues. The British government, for instance, has consistently expressed its strong preference for an improvement of external border security through an intensification of existing forms of cooperation and coordination between national border control forces or their equivalents. The organisational difficulties would also be considerable. An integrated force would require the merger of national forces, which up to now are marked by major differences in terms of tasks, structures, training, and equipment.
