The House of Lords EU subcommittee has published its Enquiry into Frontex, the EU agency set up to co-ordinate the management of the EU’s external borders. The Lords looked into the UK’s involvement in Frontex given the Court of Justice ruling excluding the UK from full participation.

Recommendations to be welcomed include that States should ensure that agreements with third countries include meaningful guarantees for the treatment of those repatriated; increased accountability and better data collection; asylum training for border guards and closer co-operation with the UN Refugee Agency.

In response, Donna Covey, Chief Executive of the Refugee Council said:

“We are pleased that the House of Lords has published such a timely report into this important agency, and glad that it has recognised many of the complexities involved in managing borders.

“Border control must allow for allow for the fact that some of the people attempting to enter the EU will be doing so in order to get to safety. The Committee rightly recommends that there needs to be better, more detailed information about the people Frontex deals with, who they are, whether they have protection needs and what happens to them.

“For many people fleeing for their lives, the only way they can be sure of safety is by getting to the EU and asking for asylum. If Frontex is to be a successful, credible agency, it must show that it is not putting people’s lives in danger, and ensure EU Member States continue to offer sanctuary to those in need.”

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