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RECOMMENDATION (11945/2023 – C90344/2023 – 2023/0235(NLE))

On the draft Council decision on the conclusion of the Agreement between the European Union and the Republic of Albania on operational activities carried out by the European Border and Coast Guard Agency in the Republic of Albania

A-9-2024-0036

Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs · Rapporteur: Lena Düpont

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Written by a language model from the full text only; every figure comes from the text. The paragraph links open the paragraph a statement rests on — check the text itself before relying on it.

Parliament's committee report asks Parliament to give its consent to the conclusion of the Agreement between the European Union and Albania on operational activities carried out by the European Border and Coast Guard Agency in Albania. The agreement is based on the Commission's model status agreement under Regulation (EU) 2019/1896 and updates the previous status agreement from 2019. It also allows the deployment of Frontex Standing Corps officers at Albania's borders with neighbouring Western Balkan partners. The rapporteur recommends endorsement and asks the Agency to inform Parliament promptly of activities under the agreement and to include an assessment of cooperation with third countries in its annual reports.

Committee position. The rapporteur recommends that Parliament endorse the draft Council Decision and give its consent to the agreement. She finds the agreement consistent with the Commission's model status agreement and asks the Agency to inform Parliament promptly of activities under it and to report on cooperation with third countries.

Key points

  1. Parliament gives its consent to the conclusion of the agreement.
  2. The agreement approves the Status Agreement between the EU and Albania on actions by the European Border and Coast Guard Agency in Albania, as foreseen in Regulation (EU) 2019/1896.
  3. The Agency may cooperate with third countries and deploy border management teams there, subject to the third country's agreement.
  4. A status agreement is required when border management teams from the standing corps are deployed to a third country where they exercise executive powers.
  5. The agreement with Albania is based on the model status agreement the Commission set out in its communication COM(2021) 829.
  6. The new agreement updates the previous status agreement from 2019 and allows deployment of Frontex Standing Corps officers at Albania's borders with neighbouring Western Balkan partners.
  7. The Commission briefed the rapporteurs on 10 January 2024 on the negotiations; the agreement was signed on 15 September 2023 in Tirana.
  8. The rapporteur says formal, legally binding agreements with third countries are important for transparency, public scrutiny and democratic oversight, and should be carefully considered, have added value and be strictly necessary and proportionate.
  9. The Agency and Albania's Ministry of Interior must adhere to the EBCG Regulation and ensure fundamental rights compliance.
  10. The rapporteur finds the proposed status agreement consistent with the Commission's model status agreement.
  11. Parliament requests that the Agency promptly inform it of activities conducted under the agreement and reminds the Agency to include an assessment of cooperation with third countries in its annual reports under Article 73(8) of Regulation (EU) 2019/1896.
  12. The rapporteur recommends that Parliament endorse the draft Council Decision.

Who is affected

  • The European Border and Coast Guard Agency and Albania's Ministry of Interior, which must adhere to the EBCG Regulation and ensure fundamental rights compliance.
  • The European Parliament, which requests prompt information from the Agency on activities under the agreement.
  • Albania, where the Agency will carry out operational activities, including at its borders with neighbouring Western Balkan partners.

Figures and deadlines

  • 10 January 2024: date the Commission briefed the rapporteurs on the negotiations.
  • 15 September 2023: date the agreement was signed in Tirana.
  • 2019: year of the previous status agreement that the new agreement updates.
  • 2015: year of the peak of the migration and refugee crisis when hundreds of thousands of asylum seekers and migrants arrived in the EU via the Western Balkans.

Legal basis: Article 77(2), points (b) and (d), Article 79(2), point (c), and Article 218(6), second subparagraph, point (a), of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.