Ska Keller, a Green Member of the European Parliament explains in this video their struggle to improve Frontex, the European Border Guard Agency.
Just a few years ago the European Parliament reformed the Agency and made it very powerful. Frontex has since been heavily criticised for its treatment of refugees and migrants.
Now the European Commission wants to reform it again by giving it a stronger role for example in handling the return operations of irregular migrants.
Ms Keller rejects the proposal that the Frontex Executive Director should have the competence to make decisions on behalf of the Member States.
“We are trying to improve the Frontex reform as much as we can,” Ms Keller says. “We are trying to strengthen fundamental rights provision in the Frontex regulations; we are pushing towards the Frontex Executive Director who doesn’t have the powers to tell the Member States what to do because it would lead to stronger boarder protection and less rights for people.”
She adds that they are pushing for a stronger role of the European Parliament when it comes to the election of the Agency’s Executive Director.
“There is a risk of having one Executive Director who is deciding on behalf of Member States without any parliamentary control or oversight,” Ms Keller says, adding that they don’t want Frontex to be given the task of returning migrants from third countries to even fourth countries.
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