Brussels, 11/07/2016 (Agence Europe) - On Monday 11 July, the executive director of the Frontex agency, Fabrice Leggeri, said in Brussels that the new European Border and Coast Guard Agency is a real “lesson learnt” from 2015 - a particularly eventful year on the migrant front.
One of the main innovations adopted by the European Parliament on 6 July involves conducting vulnerability studies on different points of the EU's external borders, and stress tests will be carried out in the autumn to update the methodology for these vulnerability studies, Leggeri stated.
The future agency, which will be built on the foundations of the current Frontex agency, will be able to deploy a reaction force of 1,500 border guards and coast guards within a week - with the member states being asked to provide and keep these staff in reserve, and to indicate public willingness for it. This permanent reserve is progress, especially compared with last year when the member states had trouble in responding to Frontex calls.
The establishment of the new agency, for which the regulation still has to be adopted after the summer holiday, will be gradual. It will begin with the existing personnel but there will be massive recruitment, Leggeri stated. The goal is to recruit a further 200 people for the agency, who will be added to the current 350 personnel.
There will also have to be work on competence standards and qualifications for the coast guards and border guards whom the member states will make available.
The future agency's new tasks also focus on the return of migrants - with Frontex now able to organise returns flights itself. It will also be able to have an EU plane land in a neighbouring country (a candidate country, for example) in order to take care of returns operations for irregular migrants who are not able to claim protection.
The mandate of the new Frontex agency is to strengthen the ability of the agency to detect threats from the sea such as terrorist threats or other criminal activities, Leggeri said. The new Frontex will also be able to conduct multiple-function operations, he added - for example, on arms trafficking, in cooperation with customs authorities. The range of areas for intervention can be wide, covering many illicit activities - from illegal fishing to environmental damage, Leggeri stated.
The cooperation with Europol will still be important, with the new Frontex having to continue providing Europol with migrants' personal data as part of its fight against people trafficking.
Alongside these activities to strengthen the EU's external borders, Leggeri gave assurances that all operations would be carried out in respect of fundamental rights. He also said a complaint mechanism will be set up for use when a person thinks their rights have been violated. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)