Negotiators from the European Parliament and the Romanian Presidency of the Council of the EU were not yet able to validate, on Tuesday 26 March, the new rules of the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (ex-Frontex) at their 4th trilogue meeting and should resume their work on Thursday 28 March, the European Parliament said, with the aim of concluding the negotiation.
Not surprisingly, the question of the Agency's ability to organise return operations from non-Member States to non-Member States is the most sensitive, as the Council of the EU has included this option in its mandate, unlike the European Parliament, which has clearly rejected it. The work focuses on the possible compromises to be found around this option by looking at what can be granted in exchange.
As several people close to the issue did not wish to specify the nature of this reflection, they said that the trilogue could have continued and ended on 26 March very late, but it was considered preferable to return to the groups or delegations. Several points remain open, such as the number of fundamental rights officers to be allocated to the Agency or governance issues, some of which have, on the whole, made good progress, one source reported.
The objective, in any case, is to be able to complete the negotiations on Thursday 28 March and to have the agreement voted on in the Committee on Civil Liberties on Monday 1 April, according to the same source. Without agreement on Thursday, the timetable will become extremely tight with the risk that the matter will be referred to the next Parliament. Nor does the European Parliament want to be held responsible for a failure on this reform, which protects the EU's external borders and can be used during the election campaign.
As a reminder, last September the Commission proposed to provide the Agency with a permanent coastguard and border guard force of 10,000 men by the end of 2020 (see EUROPE 12094/2). The Parliament and the Council of the EU have already agreed to postpone this timetable, which is considered unrealistic, and to postpone this target of 10,000 staff to 2027. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)