Purpose: Strategic inquiry on how Frontex complies with its obligations and ensures accountability in relation to its new enhanced responsibilities under Regulation (EU) 2019/1896
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Investigative body: European Ombudsman
Started: March 2021
Status: Decision on 17 January 2022
The inquiry looks specifically at the accountabilitiy of Frontex in joint operations, return activities, and screening of migrants at external borders.
The Ombudsman sent questions to Frontex in March 2021, receiving a reply in April, and looked into how Frontex ensures the transparency of its ‘operational plans’, how it decides to suspend, terminate or not launch an activity due to fundamental rights concerns (according to Article 46 of the 2019 Regulation), and the monitoring of return operations. The Ombudsman recommends that Frontex publish summaries of its confidential operational plans, and that it provide additional training to fundamental rights monitors (FRMs), not all of which have been appointed yet.
More detail on the Ombudsman's decision can be found here: "European Ombudsman: more transparency and fundamental rights training needed at Frontex"
Relevant documents:
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