09 October 2019
The European Parliament is due to approve a corrected version of the new Frontex Regulation, which was originally agreed between the Council and Parliament but has been undergoing revision by legal and linguistic specialists.
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And: the version initially agreed between the Parliament and Council in April (pdf)
The Regulation was proposed in September 2018 and agreement was reached between the Parliament and Council in April 2019. The speed of the legislative process may explain why the text has to be corrected and approved in accordance with Rule 241 of the Parliament's rules of procedure.
The headline change introduced by the new Regulation is a "standing corps" of 10,000 border guards. The official intention is to introduce the standing corps by 2027, but incoming Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has committed to doing so by 2024 - although an article in DW commented that this "looks extremely unlikely, as the member states have repeatedly rejected the move."
The new Regulation will also give the agency expanded surveillance powers, an extended mandate in the field of deportations and new possibilities for cooperation with non-EU states. Under its current mandate, Frontex has already begun to operate outside the EU, with an operation launched in Albania in May.
Further reading
Externalisation: Frontex launches first formal operation outside of the EU and deploys to Albania (22 May 2019)
Frontex gets ready to deploy to the Balkans (9 May 2019)
NGOs, EU and international agencies sound the alarm over Frontex's respect for fundamental rights (5 March 2019)
Frontex proposal: Presidency attempts to "accommodate Member States' concerns" over "standing corps" and executive powers (23 January 2019)
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