A stronger, more nimble EU border control agency may be on the way if the proposals approved yesterday by MEPs get the backing of member states.
Changes to the Frontex structure were proposed by Nationalist MEP Simon Busuttil in his capacity as the EP’s rapporteur on this dossier. They were adopted overwhelmingly by the Civil Liberties Committee of the European Parliament.
The proposals include the facility for Frontex to acquire its own equipment to use in patrol missions. The agency is so far completely dependent on the generosity of EU member states for both personnel and assets.
Dr Busuttil’s dossier also suggests the setting up of a permanent EU border guard system with the capacity to intervene rapidly in case of problems at EU borders such as sudden influxes of illegal immigrants.
Other proposals include the opening of more regional offices managed by the agency and the establishment of a human rights advisory board within the agency to make sure human rights are protected in every Frontex mission.
It is also proposed that Frontex will be given a mandate to pay special attention to member states facing specific and disproportionate burdens on their national asylum systems.
It empowers the agency to process personal data to enable it to play a greater role in combating cross-border crime and irregular migration. The report states that data should be processed for limited purposes, namely for situations regarding persons who are reasonably suspected of being involved in cross-border criminal, irregular migration or human trafficking activities.
The EP’s position will now have to be negotiated with the 27 member states. Frontex is in the news as it helps Italy try to cope with thousands of illegal immigrants crossing over from Tunisia to Lampedusa. At the same time, the risk of an “invasion” by Libyan and Sub-Saharan refugees is rising as a result of the deepening conflict in Libya.
Many member states criticised Frontex in the past as being “slow” and “ineffective”.
Commenting after yesterday’s vote, Dr Busuttil said the EP had now made it clear it wanted a stronger Frontex. “We have long criticised the agency’s lack of effectiveness and now we are doing something about it,” he said. “I hope the Council will rise to the occasion as there is no better time to agree on this review than now.”
The vote gives the EP’s rapporteur the mandate to enter into negotiations with the Council of Ministers since agreement on the matter requires the consent of both the EP and the Council of Ministers.