At a hearing organised by the European Parliament’s Human Rights Subcommittee on Thursday 7 September, the Executive Director of the Frontex agency, Netherland’s Hans Leijtens, once again defended the work of his organisation and assured MEPs that every effort was being made to respect the highest possible standards of fundamental rights.
The Director of Frontex, whose “tone” is much appreciated, commented Tineke Strik (Greens/EFA, Dutch), was more specifically invited to speak about the cooperation that the EU is forging with third countries, such as Libya, in relation to border guards.
While the EU recently concluded an agreement with Tunisia, the Dutchman nevertheless indicated that his Agency did not yet have any “short-term” cooperation plans with Tunis, although contacts would be made.
As far as Libya is concerned, the Executive Director fully acknowledged that the “country is not at all a safe place” for migrants. However, there is nothing to disqualify cooperation with the Libyan sea rescue forces, which the International Organisation for Migration is not calling into question either.
When Frontex spots a boat in distress, “all the players involved are alerted, not just the Libyan forces”, added Hans Leijtens.
Frontex, which, according to the Dutchman, is already cooperating successfully with several countries in the Western Balkans, could also eventually cooperate with Senegal and Mauritania, countries with which draft agreements have been launched. But it could “take a long time”, he said.
Mr Leijtens acknowledged the challenges facing the Agency as it seeks to become more involved in Africa and in contexts where demographics remain fragile.
In any case, the fundamental rights dimension of these agreements with third countries is being strengthened and, since 2020, no agreement with a third country can be signed without a systematic assessment of the impact on fundamental rights; each agreement signed also contains “safeguards at every stage” and an analysis of the risks and vulnerabilities before “each joint operation”.
In some cases, it has not been possible for Frontex to remedy these vulnerabilities. The agency left Niger after the coup d’état on 26 July. “Our cooperation has been suspended and all our liaison officers have left”, said Hans Leijtens.
In 2022, 24,000 migrants were returned to more than 100 countries of origin, said the Dutchman, with Frontex also emphasising the long-term reintegration process for these returnees.
Greece
Mr Leijtens was also asked by some MEPs about Greece and the possibility of activating Article 46 of the Agency, which organises the withdrawal of a Member State when it is suspected of not respecting legal standards at the external borders.
This could have the “consequence of halting all cooperation with this country”, said the Dutchman, telling MEPs that he wanted to use this as “leverage” to put pressure on Greece. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)