39 Amendments of Marie-Christine VERGIAT related to 2014/2215(INI)
Amendment 1 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 2
Citation 2
— having regard to Articles 67(1), 72, 228 and 22863 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,
Amendment 2 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 3
Citation 3
— having regard to the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, in particular Article 41 thereof,(Right to good administration) and Article 47 (Right to an effective remedy and to a fair trial)
Amendment 9 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 11 a (new)
Citation 11 a (new)
- having regard to Frontex code of conduct for joint return operations coordinated by frontex;
Amendment 12 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A a (new)
Recital A a (new)
A a. whereas Frontex as any other EU institution, body, office or agency in its activity, has to comply with the Charter of Fundamental Rights and whereas this obligation finds its translation in Article 263 TFEU according to which "acts setting up bodies, offices and agencies of the Union may lay down specific conditions and arrangements concerning actions brought by natural or legal persons against acts of these bodies, offices or agencies intended to produce legal effects in relation to them";
Amendment 13 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A b (new)
Recital A b (new)
A b. Whereas Article 263 TFEU also provides that the Court of Justice of the European Union shall review the legality of acts of bodies, offices or agencies of the Union intended to produce legal effects vis-à-vis third parties.
Amendment 14 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A c (new)
Recital A c (new)
A c. whereas even today Frontex coordination activity cannot in practice be dissociated from the Member State activity done under its coordination so that also Frontex (and thereby the European Union through it) could have direct and indirect impact on individual's rights and trigger, at the very least the EU extra- contractual responsibility (see Court of Justice Judgement T-341/07 Sison III); whereas such responsibility cannot be avoided simply because of the existence of administrative arrangements with the Member States involved in a Frontex coordinated operation when such arrangements have an impact on one' s fundamental right;
Amendment 19 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B a (new)
Recital B a (new)
B a. Whereas Article 9 of Regulation 863/2007 provides that team members responsible for carrying out monitoring and surveillance activities at the external borders must comply with Community law and the national law of the host Member State.
Amendment 21 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C a (new)
Recital C a (new)
C a. whereas migrant women are especially exposed to violence, sexual abuse and other human rights violation during their travel and at the borders;
Amendment 22 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C b (new)
Recital C b (new)
C b. whereas no single Frontex operation has been suspended, in whole or in part, by Frontex Executive Director, despite various reports made to the Fundamental Rights Officer of human rights violations which have allegedly occurred during Frontex operations;
Amendment 31 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H a (new)
Recital H a (new)
H a. whereas in light of the increase of competences of Frontex since its establishment Frontex should be held accountable as a primary stakeholder in the border management process, including when allegations of fundamental rights are involved;
Amendment 41 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital N
Recital N
N. whereas individual complaints mechanisms already exist at European level within the structures of the European Investment Bank, the European Agency for Fundamental Rights and the European Network of Ombudsmen; whereas these mechanisms aim at addressing maladministration and do not deal with breaches of fundamental rights;
Amendment 42 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital N a (new)
Recital N a (new)
N a. whereas an independent complaint mechanism outside of Frontex should be explored;
Amendment 44 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital N a (new)
Recital N a (new)
Amendment 46 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital N b (new)
Recital N b (new)
N b. whereas the development of a complaint mechanism must not be used as a justification for expanding Frontex mandate and activities;
Amendment 48 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital N b (new)
Recital N b (new)
N b. Whereas growing humanitarian and legal challenges at the EU's external borders are being presented as evidence of the imperfect implementation of a genuine EU approach; whereas this is rather the result of EU restrictive immigration policy which has had a negative impact on the rights of migrants, asylum seekers and refugees;
Amendment 58 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2 a. Expresses grave concerns at the legal vacuum that surrounds the deployment of third country officers during joint return operations as pointed out by the European Ombudsman's report and the lack of accountability which would thus prevail in the case of human rights violations involving third country officers;
Amendment 64 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Believes that in view of the ever- growing humanitarian and legal challenges at the EU’s external borders, Frontex is in need of an independent mechanism that is capable of processing individual complaints about alleged breaches of fundamental rights occurring in the course of its operations, thus becoming a first- instance body for complaintsincluding the risk of refoulement and the risks involved in the processing of personal data;
Amendment 67 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Considers that the setting-up of a mechanism for individual complaints would provide individuals with an opportunity to exercise their right to an effective remedy; 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 ofrespect for fundamental rights thatas violations would otherwise remain undetected, unreported and unresolved;
Amendment 82 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Believes that the coordinating role of Frontex should not limit its responsibility under international and EU law and should respect the national law of the host Member States whenever it applies more favourable standards for third country nationals and stateless individuals; recalls that all Union agencies are bound by the provisions of the Charter of Fundamental Rights;
Amendment 90 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Stresses the need for an official central structure within Frontexthe establishment of an independent body for the processing of individual complaints; recommends that the office of the Frontex Fundamental Rights Officer should play a crucial role in handlreceiving complaints; considers that, in particular, the office should check the admissibility of complaints, filter them, pass them on to the authoritiesindependent body responsible, and follow up on them thoroughly;
Amendment 98 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)
Paragraph 9 a (new)
9 a. Stresses that any complaint mechanism should cover the entire scope of Frontex activity including joint operations, pilot operations but also information exchange and cooperation with third countries;
Amendment 104 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Takes the view that both persons who feel harmed by border guards wearing the Frontex emblem and third parties acting in the interest of such persons should have the right to submit a complaint; urges Frontex fundamental rights officer and the independent complaint body to guarantee full confidentiality and not to disclose the identity of the complainant to third parties without his or her agreement;
Amendment 105 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)
Paragraph 10 a (new)
10 a. Emphasises that third parties, including NGOs and international organisations should have the right to submit a complaint on behalf of an individual and to represent him or her during the whole procedure allowing the complainant to remain anonymous; emphasises the need to ensure the safety of the complainant;
Amendment 109 #
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 should not be accepted; suggests further that only complaints of concrete fundamental rights violations should be admitted; considers that this should not prevent Frontex from takingconsiders that Frontex should take into 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 complaintsy NGOs, international organisations and other relevant stakeholders, beyond the complaints procedure; 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 112 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)
Paragraph 11 a (new)
11 a. Underlines that migrants and stateless individuals should also have access to the complaints mechanism, including those who could be considered to be from safe countries of origin;
Amendment 121 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)
Paragraph 12 a (new)
12 a. Calls for regular reporting by Frontex on complaints received and their follow-up with due consideration to data protection concerns of the complainants;
Amendment 136 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Recommends that the office of the Fundamental Rights Officer transfers a complaint against a guest officer via a well-defined referral system to the competent national authority; recommends that this system includes an appeal mechanism in case the complaint is deemed inadmissible or rejected; considers it crucial to involve national ombudsmen or any other relevant bodies competent for fundamental rights that have the responsibility to investigate national authorities and officials, whereas the Fundamental Rights Officer does not have the right to do so;
Amendment 138 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 a (new)
Paragraph 17 a (new)
17 a. Recommends gender-based training to be mandatory to both Frontex staff and guest officers before joining a Frontex operation, notably to raise awareness on gender-based violence and the vulnerability of migrant women;
Amendment 155 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22 a (new)
Paragraph 22 a (new)
22 a. Clear criteria on when Frontex's staff members should be excluded shall be established following recommendations from the Consultative Forum, the Fundamental Rights Officer and other relevant actors and NGOs such as FRA, UNHCR, IOM
Amendment 160 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23 a (new)
Paragraph 23 a (new)
23 a. Clear criteria on when Frontex operations should be terminated shall be established following recommendations from the Consultative Forum, the Fundamental Rights Officer and other relevant actors and NGOs such as FRA, UNHCR, IOM
Amendment 163 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24 a (new)
Paragraph 24 a (new)
24 a. considers that the European Parliament should be regularly informed of the number of incidents reported through the incident referral mechanism; therefore calls on Frontex Fundamental Rights Officer to inform every six months the European Parliament of the number of incidents reported and the measures and decisions taken as a result;
Amendment 172 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25 a (new)
Paragraph 25 a (new)
25 a. Calls on the individual complaint mechanism to ensure that the procedures comply with the UNHCR guidelines on gender-related persecutions;
Amendment 173 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25 a (new)
Paragraph 25 a (new)
25 a. Following Article 13 of the Frontex Code of Conduct for Joint Operations, international organisations and NGOs, as independent from the authorities enforcing returns, should be informed of the preparation of Joint Return Operation and allowed to monitor their application/implementation
Amendment 176 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26
Paragraph 26
26. Takes note that an individual complaints mechanism should be bothindependent, efficient and cost-effective; calls on Frontex to provide the necessary resources to the Fundamental Rights Office for handling the complaints received;
Amendment 181 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26 a (new)
Paragraph 26 a (new)
26 a. In order to improve Frontex's transparency, accountability and effectiveness and to allow the thorough investigation of individual complaints, the use of funds by Frontex should be regularly reported to the parliament and made public on their website
Amendment 186 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28
Paragraph 28
28. Recommends that Frontex and the European Ombudsman establish close cooperation in order to improve the protection of individuals from possible acts of maladministration regarding the activities of Frontex; recommends that the EU Special Representative on Human Rights is informed of the human rights aspects of Frontex external cooperation;
Amendment 190 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 30
Paragraph 30
30. Recommends the inclusion of provisions on the individual complaints mechanism in the forthcoming review of the Frontex RegulationConsiders that the Frontex legal framework should be urgently updated to cover the situations of de facto power of Frontex upon individuals; recommends the inclusion of provisions on the individual complaints mechanism in the forthcoming review of the Frontex Regulation; calls furthermore on the Commission to provide in the forthcoming review proposals for increased transparency and accountability regarding the spending of the Frontex budget;
Amendment 198 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 30
Paragraph 30
30. Recommends the inclusion of provisions on thefor an independent individual complaints mechanism in the forthcoming review of the Frontex Regulation;
Amendment 200 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 31
Paragraph 31
31. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission and the, national parliaments. and Frontex