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EU: FRONTEX: Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and the Council amending Council Regulation (EC) No 2007/2004 establishing FRONTEX

01 March 2011

EU: FRONTEX: Council of the European Union: Current position on: Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and the Council
amending Council Regulation (EC) No 2007/2004 establishing a European Agency for the Management of Operational Cooperation at the External Borders of the Member States of the European Union (FRONTEX) (EU doc no: 6394/11, with Member State positions, pdf).

1) the scope of the collection and exchanging of personal data: on people "suspected on... reasonable grounds of involvement in cross-border criminal activities, in facilitation of illegal migration activities or in human trafficking activities": "cross-border criminal activities" is a catch-all term which could cover any crime however minor. And what does "suspected" on "reasonable grounds" mean?

2) the issue of the gathering and exchange of personal data is actual about Frontex's ambitions to become an intelligence-gathering agency. The Council's position would cover passing on to Frontex of intelligence gathered during joint operations, pilot projects and the deployment of rapid border intervention teams (RABITS) and would give Frontex an intelligence-gathering role in addition to its coercive role at, and beyond, Europe's borders.

Frontex also wants exchange intelligence with third countries, especially the USA. The current Council text explicitly says that: "Onward transmission or other communication of such personal data processed by the Agency to third countries or other third parties is prohibited." However, some in the the Council are concerned that in the long-term personal data could be further transferred by EU agencies and bodies (which there are now dozens) by the "back-door". For example, Article 14 says, in very general terms: "the Agency shall facilitate the operational cooperation between Member States and third countries... [and] may cooperate with the authorities of third countries competent in matters covered by this Regulation in the framework of working arrangements concluded with these authorities, in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Treaty."

The Civil Liberties Committee (LIBE) of the European Parliament will be discussing its draft report amendments on 16 March: Draft report (pdf) and Amendments (pdf). See Commission: Proposal for a Regulation: amending Council Regulation (EC) No 2007/2004 establishing a European Agency for the Management of Operational Cooperation at the External Borders of the Member States of the European Union (FRONTEX) (pdf)