European Parliament scrutiny of Frontex

Regulation (EU) 2019/1896 transformed Frontex into the European Border and Coast Guard Agency and considerably increased its tasks, powers, responsibilities and budget. The regulation also gave the European Parliament a range of tools affording it oversight of the agency's activities. In addition to budgetary discharge, these include an obligation for the agency to provide Parliament with information, a key role for Parliament in appointing the agency's executive director, and attendance, on invitation, by a Parliament expert at Frontex management board meetings. These tools effectively make Parliament the key player in terms of democratic oversight of the agency.

In 2020, Parliament's Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) decided to investigate the allegations of Frontex's possible involvement in pushbacks and violations of fundamental rights by Member States' authorities at the EU's external borders. Parliament used both ex-ante and ex-post accountability instruments, as part of which it asked questions demanding oral and written answers, requested the Frontex executive director to appear before LIBE to answer Members' questions, and decided to postpone the discharge of Frontex's accounts for the financial year 2019; it granted discharge in October 2021. In May 2022, Parliament decided to once again postpone the discharge of Frontex's accounts, this time in respect of the financial year 2020.

In January 2021, LIBE stepped up its action and established the Frontex Scrutiny Working Group (FSWG) to monitor all aspects of the functioning of the agency, including compliance with fundamental rights, and transparency and accountability towards Parliament. The FSWG conducted a fact-finding investigation, collected evidence and presented its final report in July 2021. In December 2020, the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) also opened an investigation into FRONTEX's affairs.

In April 2022, Frontex Executive Director, Fabrice Leggeri, resigned with immediate effect, after having been given the opportunity to comment on OLAF's findings. This briefing looks at the Parliament's accountability mechanisms and how they have been used to ensure that migrants' fundamental rights are respected and upheld at the EU's external borders.

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This is an update of a previous version first published in November 2021.