Frontex Agency
European Agency for the Management of Operational Cooperation at the External Borders of the Member States of the European Union.
On the 26th of October 2004, the Council of Ministers (Justice and Home Affairs) adopted the Council Regulation (EC) no 2007/2004 establishing the European Agency for the Management of Operational Cooperation at the External Borders of the Member States of the European Union.
On the 14th of April 2005, the Council of Ministers (Justice and Home Affairs) decided that the Frontex Agency should have its seat in Warsaw.
Formally, the Agency began its activity on the 1st of May 2005.
Brigadier General Ilkka Laitinen was appointed Executive Director of Frontex.
Characteristics of the Frontex Agency:
In accordance with art. 1 of the Regulation, the Agency is established taking into consideration an integrated management of external borders of the European Union. Therefore it should “shall facilitate and render more effective the application of existing and future Community measures relating to the management of external borders. It shall do so by ensuring the coordination of Member States’ actions in the implementation of those measures, thereby contributing to an efficient, high and uniform level of control on persons and surveillance of the external borders of the Member States.”. The Agency was also established with a view to provide the EU Commission and the Member States with technical and expert assistance relating to the management of the external border an promote solidarity between Member States.
Among the main tasks of the Frontex Agency are:
a) coordination of operational cooperation between Member Sates in the field of management of external borders.
b) assistance to Member States in the training of national border guards.
c) carrying out risk analysis.
d) following up the development of research relevant for the control and surveillance of external borders.
e) assistance to Member States in circumstances requiring increased technical and operational assistance at external borders.
f) providing Member States with the necessary support in organizing joint return operations.
Within the competences of the Agency are actions undertaken in joint operations and pilot programs on external borders.
For this purpose, the Agency shall carry out evaluations, approve and coordinate projects of joint operations and pilot projects prepared by the Member States.
It is possible for the Agency to put its own technical equipment at the disposal of Member States participating in joint operations or pilot projects.
Frontex evaluates the results of joint operations and pilot projects and carries out compact comparative analyses of those results, considering the improvement of quality, coherence and efficiency of the future operations and projects. The Agency can decide on the co-financing of operations and projects out of its budget.
The Agency develops and applies an integrated risk analysis model.
Results of the common integrated risk analysis model are taken into account in works relating to the common training program (core curriculum) for border guards of Member States. This training concerns trainers from national border guards of each Member State.
In addition, the Agency organizes complementary courses and seminaries for functionaries from the concerned services of each Member State on border management as well as return operations for third countries nationals.
The Agency ensures the following up of the development of research relevant for the control and surveillance of external borders and provides this information to the Member States an the EU Commission.
The Agency establishes a centralized register of technical equipment for the control and surveillance of external borders belonging to Member States. The equipment included in the register shall be put by a Member State it belongs to at the disposal of other Member States, for a period defined by the existing needs and specified in the risk analysis carried out by Frontex.
The Agency can support Member States in cases when an increased technical and operational assistance on external borders is necessary. Such assistance should be applied for by the concerned Member State.
In cases when such assistance is required, the Agency can support the coordination of actions undertaken between two or more Member States in order to sort out problems on external border or sent its experts to assist the competent national institutions in Member State(s) concerned with a given problem.
The Agency can acquire technical equipment for the control and surveillance of external borders for the use of its experts for the term of their employment when resolving a given problem in (a) Member State(s).
Frontex can also coordinate or organize joint return operations in line with the rules of the common return policy. These actions can be financed out of common funds assigned to return operations.
The Agency develops the best practices of obtaining travel documents and returning of third countries nationals who stay illegally on the territory of Member States.
The Management of the Agency: -
Executive Director and the Deputy Executive Director (5 years' term o office) -
Management Board comprising representatives of Member States (1 person for each country; each member of the Board has a deputy (in case of absency), 2 representatives of the EU Commission.
Financing of the Frontex Agency The sources of the BMA revenues are the following:
1. general EU budget (EC section),
2. contribution from the countries associated with the implementation, application and development of the Schengen acquis,
3. fees for services provided by the Agency,
4. any voluntary contribution from the Member States.
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