The German Presidency of the EU Council is currently consulting Member States on how to strengthen cooperation between them and the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, Frontex, in order to improve operations concerning the return of illegal immigrants to the EU.
The German Presidency is planning several working group discussions (in particular 'Expulsion') and has submitted a series of questions to be answered by the Member States by 15 September, according to a document seen by EUROPE.
They focus on how these operations can be strengthened, in particular through the use of “additional escort officers” in the case of forced returns, the independent organisation of return flights, Frontex's assistance for the return of minors, and the development of best practices and “common standards” for voluntary returns and reintegration.
The Presidency is inviting Member States to reflect on different options: firstly, to create a kind of ‘pool’ of escort agents taken from the Agency's so-called category 1 staff, which is a category created under Frontex's new mandate (it corresponds to the first wave of permanent staff assigned to the Agency).
The document emphasises the fact that Member States who wish to use such escorts should be able to do so quickly, at the “last minute”, and by following a simple procedure. Frontex's statutes already provide for these escort agents, but it is reported that they are not being sufficiently used, partly as a result of organisational obstacles.
Frontex's new mandate implies that by 2021, the recruitment of 169 escort agents for forced returns will have taken place, followed by the recruitment of a further 29. The Presidency therefore wants to know how to facilitate procedures and ensure the prompt use of these agents.
The paper then asks the working groups to comment on the possibilities for Frontex to operate return flights independently and proactively, while also taking into account the needs of the Member States. “In order to be able to launch joint charter flights, Frontex should have real-time information from Member States on the number of non-Member State nationals of a given nationality who are illegally staying and who could be returned”, states the document.
Databases for the management of returns could be a solution. The Member States are therefore invited here to say whether they “are interested in Frontex proactively proposing the organisation of joint charter flights” and what specific support measures they are prepared to provide.
With regard to the return of minors, some of whom are unaccompanied, Frontex does not currently support operations such as these, but several Member States have reportedly expressed a desire for assistance from Frontex. Member States will therefore have to reflect on this and state what they believe are “best practices in preparing for the return of minors”, for example “with regard to taking into account the best interests of the child, providing age-appropriate information, offering counselling services, taking into account the family unit”, and how this support from Frontex could be involved at all stages of a return.
Link to document: https://bit.ly/3lz05to (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)