Changes from report parliamentary committee draft to plenary report

Change 9 under “3. MOTION FOR A EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT RESOLUTION”

Changed10.12. WelcomesNotes the various initiatives taken by the Agency in 2022, including the signature of a status agreement with North Macedonia and a Memorandum of Understanding and an Operation Action plan with Cyprus, as well as the doubling of the Agency’s presence in the joint operation JO Serbia Land 2022 and the opening of a new operational area at the Serbian-Hungarian borderborder; stresses that the Court of Justice of the European Union has ruled that the Hungary’s activities are incompatible with the Return Directive and Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union; notes with concern that even though the Agency said it withdrew operations from Hungary in order2021, it nonetheless continued to addresssupport increasedHungary’s migratoryreturn pressureoperations; inreiterates the WesternFSWG’s Balkans;calls on the Agency’s executive director to suspend operations from Hungary;

Change 10 under “3. MOTION FOR A EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT RESOLUTION”

Changed12.14. Notes that operational activities conducted on land borders in 2022 resulted in approx.approximately 49 000 incidents reported, involving more than 26 000 apprehended irregular migrants and 700 people smugglers arrested; notes with appreciation the Agency’s efforts that led to the return by air of 24 850 non-EU nationals (+35 % vs. 2021), of which 9 919 persons on 291 operations by charter flights to 32 countries of return and 14 931 persons (+84 % vs. 2021) by 8 789 scheduled flights to 116 countries of return; notes further the Agency’s efforts under all maritime joint operations in 2022 which led to the detection of 1 105 facilitators and 11 traffickers of human beings, the seizure of tens of tons of smuggled drugs and the rescue of thousands of migrants; notes, at the same time, the many recent tragedies of shipwrecks and other deadly incidents with migrants on the Mediterranean Sea; calls on the Agency to fully cooperate with the Ombudsman investigation; observes that 1 422 multipurpose surveillance missions were carried out by the Agency in 2022 with as a result 1 177 events and 51 362 migrants detected;

Change 11 under “3. MOTION FOR A EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT RESOLUTION”

Changed13.15. CommendsNotes the increase in the Frontex-supported returns implemented on a voluntary basis from 26 % in 2021 to 39 % in 2022; commends further the successful implementation of the first fully fledged Frontex-led return operations, whereby the Agency - taking over the role of the organising Member State - returned 80 third-country nationals to Albania and Nigeria; notes from the Agency’s report titled ‘Cooperation between Frontexthe Agency and third countries in 2022’ the2022 achievementsin ofwhich the Agency in 2022 with regardelaborates toon its external dimension activities, such as: - further developing dialogue and cooperation with various partners (e.g. Western Balkans, Eastern Partnership Region, Africa and the Middle East); - the inclusion in working arrangements with third countries of provisionsits reflectingwork Union’son data protection standards and promoting the protection of fundamental rightsrights; - providing technical and operational assistance to third countries to tackle, among others, cross-border crime; - and capacity building actions (e.g. training); expresses concern about some reports, that might suggest the involvement of the Agency in human rights violations, including in its external dimension activities, particularly the alleged facilitation of illegal pushbacks at Union’s external border; notes that according to recent information provided by the Agency, it has been sharing coordinates of migrants in distress with Libyan actors in the last three years; notes two pending Serious Incident Reports on interceptions of migrants by Tareq Bin Zeyad following the Agency´s detection;

Change 12 under “3. MOTION FOR A EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT RESOLUTION”

Changed15.17. Commends the Agency for the significant progress made in 2022 with regard to the establishment of the ETIASEuropean Travel Information System (ETIAS) Central Unit (ECU) through activities such as the development of internal rules and procedures, a mid-term strategy, an engagement framework, a business impact analysis, as well as the drafting of security, business continuity and disaster recovery plans and the conduct of the ECU’s first risk assessment; notes that for the setup of ECU, in 2022 the Agency finalised the recruitment of the second wave of ECU’s staff reaching a rate of 55 % of all posts envisaged and launched other recruitment procedures; welcomes the fact that the Commission has put in place in 2022, with the support of the Agency, a public information campaign promoting the European Travel Information System (ETIAS)ETIAS among the nationals of 60 visa-free countries; notes the other operational achievements of the Agency such as the initiation of the development of a new chain of command for standing corps with a single operational coordination structure and the delegation of more decision-making responsibilities to the field;

Change 13 under “3. MOTION FOR A EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT RESOLUTION”

Changed17.19. Highlights the importance of a strong, effective and well-functioning Agency able to assist Member States to manage the common external borders of the Union and to ensure an integrated border management with a view to managing those borders efficiently and in full compliance with fundamental rights, and to increasing the efficiency of the Union return policy;rights; notes the shared responsibilities that the Agency and the Member States have in the fulfilment of fundamental rights obligations; stresses that the effective and just management of the external borders is of crucial importance for the protection of the Schengen as an area of freedom, security and justice; stresses that close cooperation and agreements with third countries in aspects such as readmission agreements, technical assistance, training, and lawful return activities, together with development aid are important to guaranteepromote an efficient EUUnion border management;management if they fully respect fundamental rights; calls on the Agency and the Member States to further develop structures of cooperation, information-sharing and the exchange of best practices;

Change 14 under “3. MOTION FOR A EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT RESOLUTION”

Changed18.20. Acknowledges the key role of the FRO since 2021 in the implementation of various fundamental rights related recommendations stemming from the EO, FSWG and FRaLO; notes from the annual report (hereinafter the ‘FRO Report’) of the Agency’s FRO for 2022 that the majority of those recommendations have been implemented; calls on the Agency to fully cooperate with the FRO and implement all of its recommendations;

Change 15 under “3. MOTION FOR A EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT RESOLUTION”

Added21. Recalls that the Agency and relevant Member States authorities constitute the main guarantor for strong and protected European external borders while upholding fundamental rights and international protection obligations; notes that the FRO has concluded in his opinion of 1 September 2022 that the conditions for triggering Article 46 of the Frontex Regulation were met; further notes that the Agency Working Group on Fundamental Rights Art 46 issued series of recommendations concerning fundamental rights in Greece of which in October 2023 four were fully implemented; notes the Agency Working Group intends to monitor further progress and that recommended measures continue to be applied; calls for all recommendations to be fully implemented as matter of priority and on the Agency to continue informing the Parliament on the progress made;

Change 16 under “3. MOTION FOR A EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT RESOLUTION”

Added23. Welcomes that, following the recommendations for an effective border agency compliant with fundamental rights and in order to improve accountability, regularity, and legality of all Agency’s activities, an additional 22 Fundamental Rights Monitors (FROMs) were externally recruited; recalls that all FROMs should be recruited on AD level, as soon possible through the appropriate procedures; notes that, based on the Agency’s updated mandate, there will be a demand for additional FROMs in the future; welcomes that the Fundamental Rights Office conducted 1 183 deployment days visiting 50 countries which is a substantial increase in comparison to the previous year;

Change 17 under “3. MOTION FOR A EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT RESOLUTION”

Changed23.27. Commends the Agency for the progress made in implementing the fundamental rights action plan (FRAP) which foresee 87 activities; notes from the FRO Report that 18 of those activities have been fully implemented (i.e. no further action is required), 62 are on-going (i.e. implemented on a systematic manner and on a rolling-basis), one is partly implemented and six are delayed; regrets these delays and calls upon the Agency to swiftly progress on the outstanding actions; recalls in this context the important role that the FRMs have, including with regard to their access to the operational areas and close cooperation with the Agency’s operational staff, as well as their efforts in the implementation of the FRAP activities (nº 23, 63 and 83 among other); commends that the standard operating procedure on the roles and responsibilities of the FRMs in the Agency’s operational activities was finalised and approved; welcomes the creation at the beginning of 2022 of a network of fundamental rights focal points in all the Agency’s divisions to develop fundamental rights expertise in all areas of activity;

Change 18 under “3. MOTION FOR A EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT RESOLUTION”

Changed30.34. Is deeply concerned regarding the Agency’s gender breakdown reported for 2022 at senior and middle management (SMM) level with 19 men (79 %) and 7 women (21 %), at the level of the MB with 54 men (87 %) and 8 women (13 %), and for the Agency’s staff overall, with 1 473 men (71 %) and 590 women (29 %); recalls the importance to ensure gender balance and calls on the Agency to take this aspect into consideration with regard to future recruitments of staff and appointments within its senior and middle management; asks the Commission and the Member States to take into account the importance of ensuring gender balance when nominating their members to the Agency's management board; notes from the Agency’s report titled “Frontex’s individual follow up report for the 2021 budgetary discharge” (hereinafter the ‘Agency’s follow-up report’) the measures and initiatives the Agency has taken to improve gender balance; notes that, in spite of those efforts, the Agency’s declared goal to have at least 40 % of the underrepresented gender at all management levels is still far from being reached; calls on the Agency to address this issue and to report back to the discharge authority regarding progress; notes nevertheless from the Agency’s follow-up report that gender balance is being monitored by also taking account five major categories of staff, for some of which, such as managerial posts, the recruitment pool (national law-enforcement services) is mostly made of men; notes nevertheless from that report that, in the administrative posts category, the Agency has reached in May 2023 nearly ideal gender balance (417 men and 426 women);

Change 19 under “3. MOTION FOR A EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT RESOLUTION”

Changed31.35. Welcomes the Agency’s extensive anti-harassment measures and policies put in place that rely on Confidential Counsellors (17 staff, of which 6 from the standing corps team) whose role is key in protecting the dignity of the Agency’s staff and preventing psychological and sexual harassment; welcomes from the Agency’s follow-up report the actions already implemented and those in progress, as well as the list of proposed measures, all aiming at ensuring zero tolerance towards sexual harassment in all of the Agency’s activities; invitescalls on the Agency to remain pro-active and fully implement its action plan with regard to anti-harassment measures; highlights that this is an essential element of reforming the organisational culture of the Agency and calls on the Agency to periodically report on progress achieved in this regard;

Change 20 under “3. MOTION FOR A EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT RESOLUTION”

Changed32.36. Notes with concern from the Agency’s replies to Parliament’s written questions that in 2022 31 anonymous harassment cases (psychological: 27 or sexual: 4) were reported, of which 22 were closed at the anonymous stage, 4 cases were in the process of conciliation with the alleged harasser and 5 were transferred to a formal procedure; notes further that 11 cases of psychological (7) or sexual harassment (4) were opened in 2022, whereas 5 cases were closed after the preliminary assessment stage and in 6 cases recommendations were made ranging from the taking of harassment prevention awareness courses to the termination of contract; calls on the Agency to carefully assess each pending case, taking a zero-tolerance approach to psychological, sexual or any other kind of harassment, and to proceed swiftly with holding those responsible for this misconduct accountable; notes the from the Agency’s follow-up report the Agency’s conclusion on the reopened investigation with regard to the tragic death of a staff member in 2020 that no harassment was substantiated, and therefore nor a direct or indirect link between the suicide of the alleged victim and the working environment could be established;

Change 21 under “3. MOTION FOR A EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT RESOLUTION”

Added38. Notes with concern the information provided by the European Ombudsman regarding the Agency’s standing corps officers who performed standby duty before 5 October 2022, for which they did not receive any financial compensation; is worried in this context that due to the lack of additional information and a proper inquiries, the Ombudsman concluded that it remains unclear why the Agency considers that there is no legal basis to make the necessary payments; urges the Agency to set up specific taskforce with a view to collect and verify all the declarations concerning standby duty performed before 5 October 2022 and keep the discharge authority informed of the progress made in this matter;

Added39. Welcomes the steps taken by the Agency to undergo a transition process to improve the management culture and promote staff well-being; calls on the new management to continue engaging in deeply reforming the organisational culture of the Agency;

Change 22 under “3. MOTION FOR A EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT RESOLUTION”

Changed38.44. Notes with satisfaction that the CVs and declarations of interest of the members of the Agency’s MB and of its executive management are published on the Agency’s website; notes further that in 2022 five cases of whistleblowing were processed, of which three cases were closed or concluded in the preliminary assessment phase and two cases are currently under OLAF investigation; calls on those concerned and on the Agency to ensure full cooperation with OLAF in the course of the investigation; notes lastly that in 2022 no cases of conflicts of interest were investigated;

Change 23 under “3. MOTION FOR A EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT RESOLUTION”

Changed39.45. Notes from the Agency’s reply to Parliament’s written questions that the Agency is working on a policy for monitoring of compliance of the Agency’s current and former senior staff in the area of ‘revolving door’ situations; invitescalls on the Agency to keep the discharge authority informed of the progress in this matter; reiterates its call on the Agency to also put in place for the members of its MB principles, procedures and specific mechanisms to deal with conflicts of interest of those members and with ‘revolving door’ situations;

Change 24 under “3. MOTION FOR A EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT RESOLUTION”

Changed41.47. Notes from the Agency’s CAAR that the Agency’s transparency office processed a significantly higher number of applications (469) for public access to documents,documents (PAD), representing an increase by nearly 34 % year-on-year;;year-on-year; notes further that the Agency’s public register of documents website was established with around 1 900 key documents uploaded in 2022; notes the EO’s conclusions from its own initiative enquiry (case OI/2022/PB) that the Agency systematically takes too long to process PAD-requests, specifically when it concerns a large amount of documents and when the Agency considers the request to be imprecise, and that this amounts to maladministration; deplores that the Agency has failed to accept the recommendation of the Ombudsman and calls upon the Agency to start dealing with PAD-requests more swiftly and transparently as a matter of priority;

Change 25 under “3. MOTION FOR A EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT RESOLUTION”

Added49. Takes note of the Ombudsman inquiry into the Agency’s refusal to grant public access to the report by its FRO concerning the Agency’s operation in Albania (case 652/2023/VB);

Change 26 under “3. MOTION FOR A EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT RESOLUTION”

Changed44.51. Acknowledges the Agency’s briefing note of 27 June 2022 on actions taken by the Agency’s management during the transition period, in particular its efforts to strengthen the procedures needed for good governance and accountability in the organisation, through enhancing transparency, proactive communication and engagement with internal and external stakeholders; welcomes the Agency’s initiative for an operational brief informing the public about its operational activities in a comprehensive way; calls upon the new leadership to undertake reforms that are needed in respect of transparency and efficiency in internal procedures, and to increase accountability towards the Parliament and Council in accordance with the applicable legal framework;

Change 27 under “3. MOTION FOR A EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT RESOLUTION”

Changed45.52. Welcomes the Agency’s decision to issue, in an improved format, a quarterly report addressed to FSWG covering the state of play on the implementation of the recommendations stemming from various scrutiny bodies; acknowledges receipt of that report for the third quarter of 2023 (hereinafter the ‘Q3 2023 report’); commends in this context the significant progress made by the Agency in implementing 36 out of 42 FSWG recommendations; notes from the Q3 2023 report the implementation rates of the recommendations and/or required actions from the FWSG (91 %), the FraLO (87 %), the Ombudsman (79 %) and OLAF (54 %); acknowledges the role of the Agency’s ICO in the support provided to addressing those recommendations through liaison functions and coordination tasks; notes further from the Q3 2023 report that 10 IAS recommendations (covering a total of 32 actions) are still open, whereas 21 actions are marked as very important, while none of them is deemed critical; further commends the progress made by the Agency in addressing the remaining open recommendations stemming from the Court’s special reports 22/2020 (recommendation 2) and 8/2021 (recommendation 1, 2 and 4); callsreiterates its call on the Agency to fully address all pending recommendations and related actions, including with regard to the Court’s relevant observations stemming from the Court’s annual audit reports from previous years (2015, 2016, 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021); invites the Agency to continue to inform regularly the discharge authority of the progress made in these matters;

Change 28 under “3. MOTION FOR A EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT RESOLUTION”

Changed49.56. Notes further the risk that payments related to the travel agency’s costs may not be correct because the information in the Agency’s system for managing its travel-related costs does not reconcile actual costs paid with the travel agency’s costs, which are reported and processed separately from those paid by the staff on mission; understands from the Agency’s reply the reason why there are discrepancies between the missions system (MiPS)MiPS and the accounting system (ABAC) and that in the Agency’s opinion there is no risk of making payments with a wrong amount;

Change 29 under “3. MOTION FOR A EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT RESOLUTION”

Changed54.61. Notes that the opinions of the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) on the MB decisions 68/2021 and 69/2021 were negative; notes that the Agency created an implementation plan to address all EDPS recommendations in that regard; notes further that those MB decisions have been redrafted and re-adjusted after regular meetings and informal exchanges of the Agency’s Data Protection Officer with the EDPS staff, as well as by taking into account the EDPS audit report published on 24 May 2023 (hereinafter the ‘audit report’); notes that the audit report verified the compliance of the Agency’s processing of personal data in the context of Joint Operations with Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 and the relevant provisions of the EBCGRegulation Regulation;(EU) 2019/1896; notes further in this context that the audit report identified 36 formal findings and issued 32 recommendations with regard to the screening of persons and debriefing interviews, joint controllers’ arrangements, low reliability of information used for the production of risk analyses and the implementation of Data Protection by Design and By Default, among other; notes with concern from the audit report that the EDPS findings also indicate that the Agency has breached multiple articles of legal basis applicable to the Agency (Regulation (EU) 2018/1725, EBCG Regulation (EU) 2019/1896 and MB Decision 58/2015) by not assessing the strict necessity of sharing data packages with Europol for the performance of its mandate and, consequently, the EDPS has opened an investigation, which may result in the exercise of enforcement actions; regrets that EDPS identified after its audit new six cases of transmission from the Agency to Europol of personal data relating to NGOs' staff whose lawfulness needs to be further investigated; calls on the Agency to address all recommendations within the deadlines for implementation issued by the EDPS in its audit report and keep the discharge authority informed of the development in this matter;

Change 30 under “3. MOTION FOR A EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT RESOLUTION”

Added62. Welcomes that over the course of the last two years the Agency went through significant managerial changes, including a new deputy FRO, a new chair of its Management Board, two new deputy executive directors and the appointment of a new executive director; notes the establishment of action plans with national authorities to right the wrongs of the past and present;