The European Ombudsman, P. Nikiforos Diamandouros, has decided to broaden the scope of the investigation by his office relating to respect for human rights by Frontex, the European agency that coordinates member states’ surveillance of the Union’s external borders. Frontex, based in Warsaw, Poland, was given a new mandate at the end of 2011. The ombudsman asked it to respond to a number of questions on its progress putting in place a fundamental rights strategy and adopting codes of conduct for its operations, in particular for expulsions (see Europolitics 4384).
The agency submitted its response in May, detailing its strategy and the code of conduct it is putting into place as well as other measures it plans to adopt.
Before taking the matter further, the ombudsman wishes to seek the opinions of NGOs and other organisations active in fundamental rights, including the European agency based in Vienna.
FRONTEX RESPONSE
In its response, Frontex states that it still has to set up the main elements required by Regulation 1168/2011: a fundamental rights officer mechanism, a fundamental rights consultative forum mechanism to assist its Management Board, and the mechanism for suspension or termination of joint operations in cases of serious violation of fundamental rights.
The agency nevertheless points out that its role is limited to coordinating cooperation by Schengen area member states. As a result, activities that can affect an individual’s fundamental rights can only be carried out by the national authorities involved in joint operations. Frontex staff members have no direct competence in the control of EU external borders.
Participants in operations must nevertheless report any incident that may be a violation of fundamental rights to Frontex.
The fact remains that when he launched his investigation in March, Diamandouros pointed out that the European Charter of Fundamental Rights became legally binding on Frontex with the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty. Since then, several civil society organisations have expressed concerns about the agency’s compliance with the charter, “for example, in its deployment of EU border guards to Greece, where migrant detainees were kept in detention centres under conditions that have been criticised by the European Court of Human Rights,” reads a statement by the ombudsman. “This agency coordinates joint operations by member states and increasingly works with third countries to arrest individuals who try to enter the European Union illegally. These are often people fleeing persecution, but there is no evidence that Frontex operations identify such persons,” notes the European Council on Refugees and Exiles (ECRE), which speaks for 70 specialised NGOs in 30 countries.
