Brussels, 13/07/2011 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday 12 July, the European parliament civil liberties committee approved the agreement reached in Council on 22 June on the new regulation on the Frontex agency. The final plenary session vote will be held in September. Under the new regulation, Frontex, the EU borders agency, will be granted more resources and tools - it will be able to purchase, lease, own and co-own (with member states) assets. The fundamental rights dimension in Frontex operations will also be given greater prominence, with the appointment of a Fundamental Rights Officer. Teams of “European, Border Guards” will now be deployed: the change is largely semantic but it is, nonetheless, significant, according to rapporteur Simon Busuttil (EPP, Malta), in that the new terminology will bring greater “visibility” to already existing mechanisms, such as the “Rapid Border Intervention Teams” (RABITS) deployed in Greece at the end of 2010, he says in a press release. The Greens/EFA Group abstained in the committee vote, taking the view that it had not received sufficient guarantees on independent assessment of respect for the fundamental rights of migrants. (S.P./transl.rt)