Documentary controls at air, sea and land borders as part of World Youth Day (WYD) came into force this Saturday and will be carried out in a selective and targeted manner based on information and risk analysis.
The replacement of documentary control at the borders will be valid until 00:00 on August 7 and takes place “as an exception in order to protect against any threats to public order and internal security,” according to a government decree.
WYD border control, an event to be held in Lisbon from 1 to 6 August with the participation of Pope Francis, will be carried out by the Service for Foreigners and Border Guards (SEF) with the assistance of the Public Security Police (PSP) and the National Republican Guard (GNR), in addition to the possible cooperation of the authorities of other countries.
In a response sent to Lusa, SEF will use the “SEFMobile” system for border control in addition to existing equipment that allows “border control and inspection activities to be carried out mobilely, efficiently, quickly and safely”, also distributing these devices to GNR employees who, in cooperation with the Aliens and Border Guards Service, will be located at land borders.
According to the SEF, there are 21 authorized crossing points between Spain and Portugal, where the SEF and GNR “will, in a concerted effort and in a proper manner, control the land border.”
“The control will be selective and temporary, taking into account risk analysis, so a permanent control device has not been installed,” the security service explains.
The SEF will operate out of the five Centers for Police and Customs Cooperation (CCPA) and in cooperation with the Spanish authorities, namely the National Police Corps, which will strengthen its establishment in the CCPA to cooperate in the operation.
In addition to a permanent presence in the CCPA, the SEF has mobile teams that, in combination with the GNR device, ensure that document controls are replaced when needed, advance these security forces.
The SEF has reinforced its staff at CCPA at Tui, Vilar Formoso, Caia and Castro Marime, which will be the highest traffic points, employing a total of more than 100 inspectors from north to south.
In terms of air borders, SEF has 325 inspectors at five international airports, as well as trained PSP personnel for this purpose.
The SEF states that airports will “emphasize screening based on prior risk analysis of Schengen flights and persons under 18 when not accompanied by parental responsibilities”, in addition to conducting “prior analysis of passenger information and establishing close cooperation and exchange of inter-agency information”.
The Council of Ministers Regulation stipulates that controls “should respect the principle of proportionality, limited to the strictly necessary minimum to respond to possible threats to public order and internal security” in order to mitigate the impact on the movement of people.
“Given the size, characteristics, complexity of the event, its media coverage, the expected huge influx of people and the current threat context, the need to guarantee internal security through appropriate measures, including preventing the entry into the national territory of citizens or groups whose behavior may be at risk of security,” the diploma also says.
The free movement of people and goods in the Schengen area provides that internal border controls may be “re-introduced in exceptional cases and for a limited period of time” if that state considers that there may be a threat to public order or the country’s internal security.
This border procedure was also adopted in the context of Pope Francis’ previous visit to Portugal in 2017.
Author: Portuguese
Source: CM Jornal
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