Members of the European Parliament have warned that fundamental rights could suffer under European Commission plans to give the EU border agency Frontex a much bigger role in returning migrants, Politico Europe reports. Migration Commissioner Magnus Brunner set out the proposals to the Parliament's civil liberties committee on Wednesday.
Under the plans, Frontex would support returns from start to finish, including planning, pooling resources and reintegration, and could help move people from EU countries to hubs outside the bloc and on to third countries. National authorities would still decide on individual cases. Green and Socialist MEPs questioned how the agency could follow EU law while operating under other countries' legal systems, and called for tighter oversight. Brunner said existing rights obligations would remain and that any help to non-EU states would require an agreement approved by Parliament.
Source: Politico Europe