21 Amendments of Susanna CECCARDI related to 2023/2729(RSP)
Amendment 1 #
Citation 14
Amendment 2 #
Citation 20
– having regard to its decision of 10 May 2023 on granting discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Border and Coast Guard Agency for the financial year 20217 , __________________ 7 Texts adopted, P9_TA(2023)0165.
Amendment 3 #
Citation 21
Amendment 4 #
Citation 23 a (new)
– whereas the Agency is currently in a transition process: in June 2021 the new Fundamental Rights Office of Frontex has taken office; end of 2021 and beginning of 2022 three Deputy Executive Directors have taken office for the first time in the Agency’s history; in April 2022 a new Chair of the Management Board has started his term; following political pressure exerted by the LIBE Committee of the European Parliament the Executive Director has resigned in April 2022 due to the mandate of the Agency having been silently changed, after which Frontex’ Management Board chose one of the Deputy Executive Directors to lead the Agency as Executive Director ad interim; a new Executive Director was appointed in December 2022 and took office in March 2023;
Amendment 5 #
Citation 23 a (new)
– whereas sources from within European Border and Coast Guard Agency confirmed that NGO’s rescue ships are one of the migration ‘pull factors’; whereas confidential reports issued by Frontex flag concerns over NGO's interaction with migrant smugglers;
Amendment 28 #
Paragraph 1
1. Highlights the need for a strong, effective and well-functioning European Border and Coast Guard Agency that is able to assist Member States in managprotecting the common external borders of the European Union and in ensuring integrated border management in full compliance with fundamental rights;
Amendment 33 #
Paragraph 2
2. Underlines that the Agency’s budget grew exponentially from around EUR 114 million in 2015 to around EUR 750 million in 2022; adds, moreover, that the revised mandates of the Agency in 2016 and 2019 corresponded to major increases in the Agency’s responsibilities and competences, including in terms of staff and technical equipment; stresses that such increases in responsibility and budget for the Agency need to be accompanied by a corresponding increase in accountability and transparency and increased scrutiny of the Agency’s respect for Union law;
Amendment 36 #
Paragraph 3
3. Notes that over the course of the last two years the Agency has seen significant managerial changes, including a new fundamental rights officer (FRO), a new chair of its Management Board, three new deputy executive directors and a new executive director; expects that the change in management will bring about the necessary change in cultuto ensure a better protection of the EU's external borders. Notes that change will also be required with regard to respect for the Union’s principles and values, most notablyincluding fundamental rights, and with regard to transparency and efficiency in internal procedures and to increased accountability towards Parliament and the Council in accordance with the applicable legal framework; welcomes the measures already implemented to improve the management culture and to strengthen integrity and accountability within the Agency; calls on the new leadership to undertake the deep reforms that are needed and calls on the Management Board to evaluate how it can step up its involvement and scrutiny of the way in which the Agency is run;
Amendment 44 #
Paragraph 5
5. Expresses disappointastonishment that, during the appointment procedure and unknown to Members of Parliament, one of the candidates proposed for the post of executive director of the Agency was a person of interest in the second ongoing OLAF investigation; underlines, however, the importance of the principle of presumption of innocence;
Amendment 52 #
Paragraph 7 – indent 1
– The Agency should ensure that the FRO is consulted earlier on in the process of developing operational plans, is granted sufficient time for giving his or her opinions and is equipped with established methods and channels to escalate if his or her opinion is ignored;
Amendment 56 #
Paragraph 7 – indent 2
– A transparent reporting mechanism should be integrated into every operational plan in which the host Member State includes assets used in the operational area, regardless of the way these are financed; operational plans should also guarantee that Frontex teams have access to all assets, relevant information and locations within the operational area; acknowledges that the Agency cannot achieve these outcomes alone as they requireacknowledges that the Agency must obtain the consent of the Member States in question;
Amendment 58 #
Paragraph 7 – indent 3
Amendment 68 #
Paragraph 12
12. Acknowledges that the Agency finally has 46 fundamental rights monitors (FRMs) in place, despite the significant delay in complying with the requirements of the updated mandate; notes that 31 FRMs have be; stresses that this number is sufficient appointed at administrator (AD) level; continues to stress that those FRMs who were hired at the lower assistant (AST) grade should be upgraded to the higher AD level as soon possible through the appropriate procedures; points out that, basednd insists that the focus of the Agency should be to hire staff which would perform the primary task onf the Aagency’s updated mandate, the number of FRMs should continue to grow as the overall size of the standing corps increases; looks forward, in that regard, to receiving details of the Agency’s plans to increase the number of FRMs namely the protection of the external borders of the EU;
Amendment 73 #
Paragraph 13
13. Expresses severe concern regarding the serious and persistent allegations made against Greek authorities in relation to pushbacks and violence against migrants; iIs convinced that respect for the principles and values of the Union must be the condition sine qua non for Frontex to commit to a joint operation with a Member State; is further convinced that, should a Member State be unable to respect those principles and values, then the Agency should scale down and repurpose its operations towards monitoring activities in the light of Article 46 of its mandate, while maintaining its presence on the ground in order not to leave a vacuum; regrets that the Agency has so far refrained from scaling down or repurposing its operations in Greece;
Amendment 84 #
Paragraph 14
14. WelcomeRegrets the Agency’s decision to scale down its activities in Lithuania in July 2022 in the light of the judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) on 30 June 2022 as regards the Lithuanian law and decrees on asylum and migration10 ; noteswelcomes the fact that the Agency still has officers on the ground supporting national authorities with border checks at selected border crossing points and assisting return- related activities in Lithuania; recommends that the Agency take a more proactive approach to protecting the Union’s principles and values rather than await CJEU rulings; __________________ 10 Judgment of the Court of Justice of 30 June 2022, M.A. v Valsybès sienos apsaugos tarnyba, C-72/22PPU, ECLI:EU:C:2022:505.
Amendment 89 #
Paragraph 15
15. Recalls that, although the Agency withdrew from operations in Hungary in January 2021 following a clear CJEU ruling in December 202011 , it continues to support Hungarian authorities in carrying out returns; reiterates the FSWG’s calls on the executive director to immediately suspend support for return-related operations from Hungary; __________________ 11 Judgment of the Court of Justice of 17 December 2020, Commission v Hungary, C-808/18, ECLI:EU:C:2020:1029.
Amendment 95 #
Paragraph 16
16. Notes the Agency’s mandate to provide better situational awareness in the maritime domain and to transmit that information to the relevant authorities regarding competence for search and rescue operations; reiterates the obligation under the international law of the sea to render assistance to persons found in distress at sea; notes that Regulation (EU) No 656/2014 establishing rules for the surveillance of the external sea borders in the context of operational cooperation coordinated by Frontex lays down the rules for the Agency’s involvement in search and rescue operations; underlines that the Agency could do more to increase the capacity of the EU and Member States to carry out search and rescue operations, notably by investing in appropriate assets for such operations;
Amendment 98 #
Paragraph 17
Amendment 104 #
Paragraph 18
18. Considers that the absence of an EU-level search and rescue mission has led other civil society and non- governmental organisations to fill the gap in providing search and rescue capacity; is concerned about the increasing number of attempdeaths at sea could have been prevented if the EU adopted an effective no-tolerance migration policy that does not create the pull factors for migrants to risk their lives in unseaworthy vessels; warns that any increase in EU search and rescue capacity would create further pull factors that would encourage migrants to criminalise such actions, further limiting the possibilities for those in distress at sea to be rescued; sk their lives to travel to Europe; further stresses that the NGO's cannot take over the role of a state in search and rescue activities; recalls that sources within Frontex have confirmed in several internal documents that certain NGO's regularly cooperate with smugglers;
Amendment 116 #
Paragraph 19
19. Notes theat conclusions of the fundamental rights officer that Libya cannot be considered a port of safety and the conclusion of the UN Independent Fact-Finding Mission to Libyoperation with third countries is essential to prevent tragedies at sea;
Amendment 117 #
Paragraph 20
20. Urges the Commission to conduct fundamental rights impact assessments prior to concludingaccelerate negotiations for a status agreement with a third countryies in order to be able to fully consider the fundamental rights impact of cooperating with that country; calls on the Agency to share periodical evaluations of joint operations in third countries and constantly assess the impact and scope of active operations, including in respect of fundamental rightsdeploy means to prevent illegal migratory flows towards the EU;