Externally funded projects
External funding gives the Swedish Coast Guard the opportunity to develop its operations and strengthen its capability in several important areas. With funding from EU funds and national grants, the agency develops its operational capability, strengthens crisis preparedness and contributes to better protection of the marine environment.
The Swedish Coast Guard takes an active part in a number of externally funded projects together with both national and international partners. With funding from EU funds and national grants, we develop our operational capability, strengthen civil crisis preparedness and improve the protection of our marine environment.
The funds and programmes we most often apply to are:
- Swedish Civil Defence and Resilience Agency appropriation 2:4 (national crisis preparedness)
- BMVI instrument (Border Management and Visa Instrument)
- ISF (Internal Security Fund)
- Civil Protection (international crisis preparedness)
- Interreg (international cooperation between neighbouring countries)
- Horizon (research)
- EMFAF (European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund)
Ongoing projects with external funding
Two operating projects are under way at the Coast Guard and are funded by EU funds. They cover the operating costs of taking part in FRONTEX operations, and the operating costs of the staff linked to the National Coordination Centre, NCC. The projects contribute to the overall objective of effective and integrated European border management at the external borders. Here you can find more information about Frontex and National Coordination Center.
The Coast Guard has taken part in FRONTEX operations since 2009, with aircraft and vessels. This is regulated in Regulation (EU) 2019/1896 on the European Border and Coast Guard (EBCG). The task of our crews is to monitor the EU's external border with third countries and to combat serious cross-border crime. This work also includes carrying out maritime search and rescue.
The Frontex operations project is a continuation of the project "Operating costs FRONTEX". It is expected to help achieve objective 1 of the national programme, that is, to achieve European integrated border management. The result of this project is expected to have as good effects as the previous project, such as contributing to a more effective organisation before, during and after taking part in operations, where long-term planning of efforts guides the work. This will benefit European border surveillance and Sweden's role in the cooperation.
The Coast Guard is involved in the NCC, the National Coordination Centre, within the Swedish Police Authority's EUROSUR II project. EUROSUR was previously the EU framework for border surveillance systems in the Schengen area, focusing on the exchange of information on cross-border crime and illegal migration. EUROSUR is now part of the European Border and Coast Guard, which was established in 2019 through Regulation - 2019/1896 - EN - EUR-Lex.
The NCC is the national coordination centre at the Police Authority. It is responsible for coordinating and sharing information and situational pictures linked to border control. The national authorities appointed to work with border surveillance are represented here. The NCC is responsible for producing and passing on a national situational picture, which is provided to FRONTEX. A European situational picture is produced from this and shared with the member states. The project contributes to the programme's overall objective of effective and integrated European border management at the external borders, in line with the EU Border Management and Visa Instrument (BMVI).
In each programme period, which lasts seven years, funds for fisheries control are allocated to Sweden. The Coast Guard and the Swedish Agency for Marine and Water Management distribute the fund money intended for authorities. From these funds, we have received money for, among other things, control and surveillance operations that have been carried out, so-called Joint Deployment Plans (JDP), which are fisheries controls carried out jointly with other member states.
In 2021, the Coast Guard started a three-year project to make the operational control of fishing more effective and to improve it. Thanks to co-funding from the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund, the agency has been able to ensure higher competence and capability in a specialised group of twelve fisheries inspectors and three administrators. Today, the specialised group works to ensure that the Coast Guard meets both national legislation and EU rules on fisheries control. The administrators, who work at the Coast Guard's office, are responsible for implementing legislation and EU directives, as well as for long-term planning, advice and method development.
The fisheries inspectors act as operational support to other officers who carry out controls, and they also take part in control work themselves. The project focused on developing the knowledge of both the administrators and the inspectors in methods and equipment. Between 2021 and 2024, the Coast Guard carried out a number of activities to raise competence. These included targeted control actions, so-called "fishing pushes", aimed at fishing for salmon, shrimp, mackerel and lobster. These were carried out in cooperation with the Swedish Agency for Marine and Water Management. In addition, staff took part in international exchanges of knowledge through the European Fisheries Control Agency, EFCA, and visited the trade fair "Danfish" to learn about new technology. The project ended with a series of workshops and training courses in cooperation with, among others, SLU (the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences) and the Danish fisheries control. These activities contributed directly to increased competence in fishing surveillance and control methods.
The Coast Guard takes part in two projects without a budget. EUphoria relates to the EMPACT (European Multidisciplinary Platform Against Criminal Threats) cycle in law enforcement, while SAR (Search and Rescue) UAS (Unmanned Aircraft System) is linked to the Coast Guard's own project on introducing UASs (drones) in line operations.
The Operational Tactical Centre, OTC project was started after the Schengen evaluation in 2022, which pointed out a clear need for an improved national situational picture for operational coordination. The basis for the project was formulated within the Eurosur II cooperation, which draws on good experience from other authorities' organisations and on the requirements that the EU regulation on the European Border and Coast Guard (EBCG) places on the Coast Guard.
The purpose of the OTC is to create a new function that coordinates decided activities together with the Control Centre Unit. This should contribute to greater impact in operational activities and create a shared, uniform situational picture of the Coast Guard's work, where relevant parts can also be shared with other cooperating authorities.
Since autumn 2024, the project has been funded through the Swedish Police Authority and the Group for EU Funds, via the EU Border Management and Visa Instrument (BMVI). The overall objective is to support effective and integrated European border management at the external borders, in order to facilitate legal border crossings, manage migration flows, and prevent and detect illegal immigration and cross-border crime.
Vessel accidents can result in oil spills and extensive pollution response operations. The IMAROS project identified gaps in technology and methods. The IMAROS II project will use these as a starting point for testing and trials. New fuels (LSFO – Low Sulphur Fuel Oil) will be examined from a pollution response perspective, mainly by:
- Improving knowledge of the properties of the fuel, so that the right decisions are made at all levels of the pollution response operation.
- Improving the ability to recover oil mechanically, including in areas close to the shore.
The problems identified earlier will be addressed in three rounds of testing, and industry is invited to take part, mainly companies in oil clean-up equipment. Clean-up of areas close to the shore will also be examined, as well as the effect of the fuel in question on the shoreline environment, and recovery of oil on land. New clean-up techniques will be tested based on research. The IMAROS project is funded by the Civil Protection Mechanism.
The background to the project is that the European Commission has initiated and requested that large-scale IT systems be implemented in the member states. By strengthening the Coast Guard's knowledge of the needs, and the agency's ability and capacity to contribute to and manage these systems, the overall ability within the EU to monitor a larger maritime area bordering a third country will also be strengthened in the long term.
The Coast Guard has applied for and been granted a project under the special investment in exercise activities within appropriation 2:4 of the Swedish Civil Defence and Resilience Agency. The project starts on 1 July 2023 and runs for two years, with a total budget of SEK 2 million. During the project, smaller exercises must be developed, carried out and evaluated.
Based on the evaluations, three larger regional tabletop exercises must be carried out and evaluated. These in turn will form the basis for a larger exercise, or part of a larger exercise, at the end of the project. The aim is to make use of existing and planned exercises in the project, and to put emphasis on evaluation and follow-up. The cooperation partners are the Swedish Maritime Administration, the Swedish Sea Rescue Society, theSwedish Auxiliary Naval Corps, the County Administrative Board of Blekinge, the County Administrative Board of Skåne and Stena Line.
The National Border Police Section and the Coast Guard have together identified a need for a joint sea border project between authorities, in order to ensure a legally secure, effective and uniform border control procedure for the sea border. The primary purpose of the Sea Border Project is to strengthen border management at the Swedish sea borders, with the aim of ensuring that Sweden fully complies with the Schengen rules for external border control at sea.
The two-year project is funded through the BMVI instrument and run by representatives from the Swedish Police Authority and the Coast Guard. It focuses on establishing a shared national legal view and a clear division of responsibilities for border control of maritime traffic, in line with the Schengen recommendations. The work includes developing methods and routines, investigating needs for equipment and training, and an analysis of needs for IT systems.
It is part of the Coast Guard's regular remit to work actively in the EU joint control and surveillance operations, so-called Joint Deployment Plans (JDP). The project, which was part-funded by the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund, meant that the Coast Guard received a grant to improve cooperation with other EU countries in order to protect fish stocks and ensure a sustainable marine environment.
The JDP campaigns were carried out in the Baltic Sea, the Skagerrak and Kattegat and the North-East Atlantic. The Coast Guard contributed about 100 JDP days a year, in which the agency's vessels and aircraft were used to monitor and control commercial and recreational fishing. The operations included control of fishing gear, catches, documentation and permits. The work was carried out in close cooperation with the Swedish Agency for Marine and Water Management, which has main responsibility for the area in Sweden. Together, the authorities developed methods and control systems to make surveillance more effective. The results of the inspections, and daily situation reports, were carefully documented and sent to the European Fisheries Control Agency, EFCA. This was an important part of the EU's documentation of fisheries controls. Serious violations were also reported through a criminal complaint. Through its participation in JDP campaigns, the Coast Guard helps to maintain a viable fishing industry and a sustainable marine environment in line with current EU rules.
