Frontex to Deploy 'EU Border Guard Teams' as Part of Power Boost

A group of Sub-Saharan African migrants sits in an Italian Coast Guard boat as they are brought to the harbour of the Italian island of Lampedusa, on 15 April 2011. EPA/BGNES

The EU Council and the European Parliament have agreed on a set of measures to boost the powers of Frontex, the EU border control agency, in light of the rising need to tackle illegal migration.

In addition to boosting Frontex's capabilities, the agreement on changes to its mandate also provides for more solidarity from all EU member states with those member states facing "disproportionate" migratory burdens.

The Council and the European Parliament have reached political agreement on the draft regulation amending the regulation concerning the European Agency for the management of operational cooperation at the external borders of the EU (Frontex).

The strengthening of the capacities of Frontex includes measures such as (among others) the possibility for Frontex to buy or lease its own equipment (cars, vessels, helicopters etc.) or to buy such equipment in co-ownership with a member state; a mechanism for member states to second national border guards and make available equipment to the agency, the equipment put at the disposal of the agency will be registered in a centralized records of a Technical Equipment Pool (TEP); "European Border Guard Teams" as the common name for teams deployed during Frontex operations (be it joint operations, pilot projects or rapid border interventions); the possibility for the agency to launch technical assistance projects and deploy liaison officers in third countries.

Frontex was created in 2004 with the aim to coordinate and assist member states' action in the surveillance and control of the external borders of the EU. The agency officially became operational on May 1, 2005 and is based in Warsaw, Poland.

Earlier this year, Frontex established a first regional operational office in Piraeus, Greece, on a pilot basis. There are currently approximately 300 people working for the agency. Since Frontex became operational, its financial resources have increased significantly (from EUR 6 M in 2005 to EUR 86 M in 2011).

Frontex's main tasks include the coordination of joint operations at the sea, land and air external borders, the coordination of joint return operations, the establishment of common training standards for national border guards and the carrying out of risk analyses.

"Finally, we are on track to making the agency more effective. This is the Frontex that Europe needs in the coming years and we hope that it will now deliver better," commented EP rapporteur Simon Busuttil, an European People's Party MEP from Malta.

At the European Parliament's request, Frontex will appoint a fundamental rights officer and set up a consultative forum on fundamental rights. These will assist the agency's management board and will have access to all information concerning respect for fundamental rights.

The Executive Director of Frontex will be required to suspend or terminate an operation, in whole or in part if he or she identifies any violation of the rule of law or fundamental rights of a serious nature or likely to persist.

Under international law, no person may be disembarked or handed over to the authorities of a country where his/her life or freedoms could be threatened. The agency will respect this principle of "non-refoulement" in all circumstances, says the agreed text.

Under the new rules, all EU member states will be obliged to contribute with staff and equipment to Frontex operations. The agreement says the agency will focus its activities on EU countries facing "specific and disproportionate" migratory pressures.

To reinforce the democratic scrutiny of Frontex, the agency will be required to report regularly to the European Parliament on its fundamental rights activities.

Frontex will also be required to process personal data only when strictly necessary, says the agreement, which imposes a series of restrictions on the types personal data that it may process. These data must not be stored for more than three months after they are collected, and may be forwarded to Europol or other EU agencies only on a case by case basis. Sending the data to third countries will be prohibited.

The agreed text will be put to a vote in the Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs Committee of the European Parliament on 12 July. If approved, the European Parliament as a whole will vote on it at the 12-15 September plenary session in Strasbourg.

As of March 2011, Frontex also has officers monitoring the migration at the Bulgarian-Turkish border, Frontex Spokesperson Michal Parzyszek told Novinite.com (Sofia News Agency) in an interview in May 2011 (READ HERE)

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