Activities of Angelika MLINAR related to 2014/2215(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
Special report of the European Ombudsman in own-initiative inquiry concerning Frontex (debate)
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on the Special Report of the European Ombudsman in own-initiative inquiry OI/5/2012/BEH-MHZ concerning Frontex PDF (183 KB) DOC (131 KB)
Amendments (23)
Amendment 4 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 7 a (new)
Citation 7 a (new)
- having regard to the Communication COM(2015) 453 final, from the Commission to the European Parliament and to the Council, EU Action Plan on return;
Amendment 5 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 7 b (new)
Citation 7 b (new)
- having regard to Frontex code of conduct for joint return operations coordinated by frontex;
Amendment 18 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B a (new)
Recital B a (new)
B a. whereas under Article 5(a) of the Code of Conduct for All Persons Participating in Frontex Activities stresses that participants in Frontex activities shall, inter alia, promote the provision of information on rights and procedures to persons who are seeking international protection;
Amendment 33 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I a (new)
Recital I a (new)
I a. whereas according to Article 2a of the Frontex regulation the code of conduct is applicable to all persons participating in the activities of the Agency;
Amendment 54 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Welcomes the Special Report of the European Ombudsman in the framework of the own-initiative inquiry concerning Frontex; supports Frontex’s initial efforts in taking on board the Ombudsman’s recommendations; acknowledges Frontex’s current fundamental rights safeguards in the form of, but not limited to, the setting- up of an incident reporting system as well as devising codes of conduct, creating a Consultative Forum on fundamental rights and establishing a Fundamental Rights Office;
Amendment 68 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Considers that the setting-up of a mechanism for individual complaints would provide individualis needed in order to provide third country nationals or stateless persons with an opportunity to exercise their individual right to an effective remedy in case of violation of their fundamental rights; suggests that the introduction of such a complaints mechanism would increase transparency, since Frontex and the EU institutions would be more aware of possible violations of fundamental rights that would otherwise remain undetected, unreported and unresolved;
Amendment 71 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4 a. Considers that an annual Report from the Fundamental rights officer to the Frontex Consultative Forum and the Ombudsman will guarantee the transparency and the efficiency of the mechanism;
Amendment 76 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Stresses that under the Frontex regulation there are no legal obstacles to the introduction of an individual complaints mechanism and that it even falls within the scope of Article 26a(3) of the Frontex Regulation, according to which the Fundamental Rights Officer shall contribute to the mechanism of the monitoring of fundamental rights; notes that the lack of such a mechanism is non- compliant with the principle of good administration and undermines the effective implementation of the Agency’'s fundamental rights strategy; believes that the capacity of Frontex to deal with possible violations of fundamental rights should be strengthened in the context of expanding the Agency’'s role under EU law, in particular its participation in Migration Management Support Teams working in ‘'hotspot’' areas;
Amendment 92 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Stresses the need for an official central structure within Frontex for the processing of individual complaints; recommends that the office of the Frontex Fundamental Rights Officer should play a crucial role in handlingoordinating role in the individual complaints mechanism; considers that, in particular, the office should check the admissibility of complaints, filter them, pass them on to the authorities responsible, and follow up on them thoroughly;
Amendment 99 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)
Paragraph 9 a (new)
9 a. Stresses the need for Frontex to inform the third country nationals and stateless persons about the right to present a complaint without relaying only on the Member States official;
Amendment 111 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Acknowledges that safeguards are needed to prevent misuse of the complaints mechanism; recommends, therefore, that anonymous complaints shcould not be accepted if presented through a third person working for an international organization as for instance IOM or UNHCR; suggests further that only complaints of concrete fundamental rights violations should be admitted; considers that this should not prevent Frontex from taking account of other information sources on alleged fundamental rights violations, including general reports, beyond the complaints procedure; emphasises the need for clear criteria for the admissibility of complaints; recommends the provision of a standardised form for complaints requiring detailed information such as date and place of the incident, since this would facilitate decisions on admissibility;
Amendment 117 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Emphasises that the above form should be accessible in the most commonappropriate languages spoken by migrants and asylum seekers and that it should include all necessary information on how to submit a complaint, including practical guidelines which are written in a comprehensible manner; is of the opinion that the possibility to submit a complaint orally to a person wearing the Frontex emblem should be ensured, which complaint would be duly transcribed by the officer involved; urges Frontex to make the complaints form available both in electronic format on its website and in hard-copy format, in the Member States’' screening centres as well as from Frontex staff and guest officers participating in any Frontex operation;
Amendment 124 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Recommends that Frontex should set a reasonable deadline for the submission of a complaint, thus allowing the possibility of filing a complaint after the termination of a Frontex operation; considers this to be of particular relevance for return operations; recommends Frontex to establish a cooperation with the ombudsmen or other competent authorities in the countries of return in order to ensure to the third country nationals to have the possibility to submit the complaint after the return operation;
Amendment 128 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Acknowledges that potential complaints may in many cases refer to the conduct of guest officers who fall under the particular authority of a Member State but wear the Frontex emblem; notes that these officers wear their own national uniform while performing tasks which does not necessary has a name or identification number visible on it; stresses that while guest officers are obliged to carry an accreditation document, requesting identification might be an obstacle to lodging a complaint against an officer; recommends that all persons acting under the Frontex emblem should have a visible name or identification number on their uniforms;
Amendment 129 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. RecallsTakes into account that Frontex has no competence for initiating disciplinary measures against persons other than its own staff members, and that under Article 3(1a) of the Frontex Regulation taking disciplinary measures falls under the exclusive competence of the home Member State; notes that due to the coordinating role of Frontex, it should establish and maintain an appropriate central monitoring system and complaints collecting mechanism;
Amendment 130 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Takes note that Member States handle complaints against guest officers in very different ways; is concerned that alleged fundamental rights violations might not be followed up effectively by some Member States; calls on Frontex and the Member States to cooperate closely and to exchange best practice in order to ensure the proper follow-up of complaints against guest officers;
Amendment 143 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Stresses that Frontex should closely follow up on complaints by formally requesting feedback from the respective Member State and, if necessary, by sending a letter of warning recalling the possible action which Frontex can take if no follow up to the letter concerned is received; recalls that Frontex has the right to receive information on fundamental rights violations by guest officers in the context of its obligation to monitor respect for fundamental rights in all of its activities; recommends Frontex to cooperate closely not only with the national border authorities but also and foremost with the national human rights institutions;
Amendment 147 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. Recommends that a justification should be providedcalls on Frontex fundamental rights officer to provide a justification to the complainant should no follow-up procedure be initiated by Frontex;
Amendment 170 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25
Paragraph 25
25. Takes the view that an individual complaints mechanism can only be effective if potential complainants, as well as the officers taking part in Frontex operations, are made aware of the individuals’ right to complain through an effective and gender sensitive information campaign; believes it should be possible for the number of potential inadmissible complaints to be limited substantially through such an information campaign and a well- structured admissibility check;
Amendment 174 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26
Paragraph 26
26. Takes note that an individual complaints mechanism should be both efficient and, cost-effective and transparent and still in accordance with the principle of data protection; calls on Frontex to provide theall necessary resources, including additional budget and staff, to the Fundamental Rights Office for handlcoordinating the complaints received;
Amendment 180 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26 a (new)
Paragraph 26 a (new)
26 a. Considers the description of the tasks assigned to the Fundamental Rights Officer too limited and imprecise in its wording; notes that the tasks of the Fundamental Rights Officer are at the moment only described in the vacancy notice; suggests the inclusion of provisions on the tasks of the Fundamental Rights Officer in the forthcoming review of the Frontex Regulation;
Amendment 193 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29
Paragraph 29
29. Calls on the Member States to cooperate efficiently with Frontex in order to ensure the smooth running of the complaints mechanism; encourages Frontex to provide technical assistance to the Member States in order to ensure the complaints mechanism’'s effectiveness;
Amendment 196 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 30
Paragraph 30
30. Recalls that nothing prevents Frontex from introducing an individual complaints mechanism under the current Frontex Regulation; in any case recommends the inclusion of provisions on the individual complaints mechanism in the forthcoming review of the Frontex Regulation; in accordance with Article 263 TFEU;