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1. The Agency shall contribute members of its statutory staff (category 1) to the standing corps to be deployed in operational areas as members of the teams with the tasks and powers provided for in Article 82, including the task of operating the Agency's own equipment.

2. When recruiting staff, the Agency shall ensure that only candidates who demonstrate a high level of professionalism, adhere to high ethical values and possess appropriate language skills are selected.

3. In accordance with Article 62(2), following their recruitment, the statutory staff to be deployed as members of the teams shall undergo necessary border-guard or return-related training, including on fundamental rights, as relevant to the profiles of staff decided by the management board in accordance with Article 54(4), taking into account their previously acquired qualifications and professional experience in the relevant areas. The training referred to in the first subparagraph shall be conducted in the framework of dedicated training programmes designed by the Agency, and, on the basis of agreements with selected Member States, implemented in their specialised institutions for training and education, including the Agency's partnership academies in Member States. Adequate training maps shall be designed for each staff member after his or her recruitment to ensure that he or she is always professionally qualified to fulfil border guard or return-related tasks. Training maps shall be regularly updated. The Agency shall cover the full cost of training. Statutory staff who act as technical crew operating the Agency's own equipment shall not need to undergo full border guard or return-related training.

4. Throughout their employment, the Agency shall ensure that its statutory staff discharge their duties as members of the teams in accordance with the highest standards and in full compliance with fundamental rights.

5. On the basis of a proposal from the executive director, the management board shall:

(a) establish an appropriate supervisory mechanism to monitor the application of the provisions on use of force by statutory staff, including rules on reporting and specific measures, such as those of a disciplinary nature, with regard to the use of force during deployments;

(b) establish rules for the executive director to authorise statutory staff to carry and use weapons in accordance with Article 82 and Annex V, including on mandatory cooperation with the competent national authorities, in particular of the Member State of nationality, the Member State of residence, and the Member State of the initial training; those rules shall also address how the executive director ensures that the conditions for issuing such authorisations continue to be met by statutory staff, in particular as regards handling weapons including the performance of regular shooting tests;

(c) establish specific rules to facilitate the storage of weapons, ammunition and other equipment in secured facilities and their transportation to the operational areas. In relation to the rules referred to in point (a) of the first subparagraph of this paragraph, the Commission shall give an opinion on their compliance with the Staff Regulations and Conditions of Employment, in accordance with Article 110(2) of the Staff Regulations. The fundamental rights officer shall be consulted on the proposal from the executive director with regard to those rules.

6. Agency staff who are not qualified to perform border guard or return-related tasks shall only be deployed during joint operations for coordination, monitoring of fundamental rights and other related tasks. They shall not form part of the teams.

7. The statutory staff to be deployed as members of the teams shall be able to perform, in accordance with Article 82, the following tasks requiring executive powers, in accordance with the profiles of staff and relevant training:

(a) the verification of the identity and nationality of persons, including consultation of relevant Union and national databases;

(b) the authorisation of entry where the entry conditions, as laid down in Article 6 of Regulation (EU) 2016/399, are fulfilled;

(c) the refusal of entry in accordance with Article 14 of Regulation (EU) 2016/399;

(d) the stamping of travel documents in accordance with Article 11 of Regulation (EU) 2016/399;

(e) the issuing or refusing of visas at the border in accordance with Article 35 of Regulation (EC) No 810/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council and introducing relevant data in the Visa Information System;

(f) border surveillance, including patrolling between border crossing points to prevent unauthorised border crossings, to counter cross-border crime and to take measures against persons who have crossed the border illegally, including interception or apprehension;

(g) the registering of fingerprints of persons apprehended in connection with the irregular crossing of an external border in Eurodac in accordance with Chapter III of Regulation (EU) No 603/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council ;

(h) liaising with third countries with a view to identifying and obtaining travel documents for returnees;

(i) escorting third-country nationals subject to forced-return procedures.