The EU and Border Control

As mentioned before on this site, I believe it is very possible that the "confirming" of the covenant in Daniel 9:27 could be a reference which describes the manner in which a peace covenant is literally confirmed (admittedly, this is just one possibility for interpreting this scripture but I believe it is a strong possibility).

There have been many "covenants" which have been signed, the most recent being the Oslo Peace Accord which was signed during the Clinton administration. This was never "confirmed" as violence broke out almost immediately. It seems obvious that whenever "The" covenant is agreed upon, there will have to be some sort of border control (and ground troops in the region beyond border control), in order to maintain peace in the region - thus, "confirming" the covenant.

For this reason, we have been watching the EU and their building of an infrastructure under Catherine Ashton (see "EEAS": European External Action Service). Today, we see yet more progress towards this ultimate goal:

EU agrees to boost border agency's powers

On the eve of a two-day summit covering migration issues as well as the Greek crisis, the EU's main institutions have agreed to give extra powers to the bloc's border agency Frontex on human trafficking and other cross-border crimes.

The deal reached on Wednesday (22 June) by EU governments, the European Parliament and the European Commission will allow Frontex to buy or lease its own equipment - such as helicopters and terrain vehicles, so as to make it less dependant on assets lent by member states.

Pending formal approval by the European Parliament in September, the agreement will also make it more binding for member states to stick to their commitments when pledging border guards to the Warsaw-based agency, who will now be deployed as "European border guard teams" whenever a country is struggling to secure the EU frontier.

In a bid to stem irregular migration, Frontex will also be allowed to launch technical assistance projects and deploy liaison officers in countries of origin and transit and play a bigger role in return operations.

On the human rights side - always a matter of concern when it comes to border guards dealing with refugees and paper-less migrants - Frontex will now have a "fundamental rights officer" and be part of a "consultative forum on fundamental rights."

The new powers are likely to be welcomed by EU leaders, as a latest draft of conclusions to be adopted on Friday reads.

One senior EU official noted that it is the first time that EU leaders will discuss migration, border controls and the enlargement of Schengen at the same meeting, for a long time considered "too difficult to talk about."

At the same time, we see this interesting article:

Ashton's secret diplomacy upsets EU states

EU foreign relations chief Catherine Ashton has annoyed some member states by taking part in a secretive meeting about the Middle East peace process.

Luxembourg's openly pro-Palestinian foreign minister Jean Asselborn hosted the informal dinner about the Arab-Israeli conflict at the Senningen castle in the grand duchy on Sunday (19 June), on the eve of an EU foreign ministers' meeting.

The event was attended by British foreign minister William Hague, German foreign minister Guido Westerwelle, Swedish foreign minister Carl Bildt and the high representative.

A number of Arab diplomats also came. The list reportedly includes the secretary general of the Arab League, Amr Moussa, Egyptian foreign minister Nabil Elaraby, a delegate from Jordan, chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat and a delegate from Saudi Arabia.

There was no Israeli participation and no guests from staunchly pro-Israeli EU countries such as the Czech Republic and the Netherlands.

The one guest who made a public remark was Bildt, who wrote in his blog that the event was "devoted [to] possibilities of a peace process in the Middle East".

Whatever was said at the dinner, Ashton's participation upset some EU countries.

"Member states meet in many formats, some of which are regional ones. But it raised eyebrows. If it's an ad hoc thing, it's OK. But if this kind of event becomes normal behaviour, then it could be a problem," a diplomat from one of the excluded EU countries said.

A diplomat from another excluded member state said it fortified Ashton's image of being pro-Palestinian rather than a neutral broker.

So to summarize today's news, we see a strengthening of the EU's capabilities for military use of border control and at the same time secretive meetings are being held regarding 'Middle East Peace' which exclude Israel and any representatives who are considered as "pro-Israel".

Yep. It looks like things are right on schedule.