European Commission: new proposal for the regulation of operations of surveillance of external sea borders coordinated by Frontex

Date: 
Friday, October 4, 2013

The European Commission has presented its new proposal for a Regulation concerning operations coordinated by Frontex for the surveillance of external sea borders. In 2012, the CJEU annulled the previous decision regulating this issue (Decision 2010/252/EU) after an action brought by the European Parliament, who considered that it had been adopted through an inappropriate procedure. The new proposal replaces the annulled decision. It takes the form of a Regulation and applies to surveillance operations in a broader sense, covering also interception measures, arrangements for search and rescue and disembarkation. The proposal takes into account relevant developments such as the Hirsi Jamma and Others v. Italy judgment of the European Court of Human Rights and hence establishes some guarantees for intercepted persons being disembarked. If interception takes place in the territorial sea of the Member State, the persons intercepted will have to be disembarked in that state. Only when interception takes place at high sea is disembarkation in the third country of departure of the ship contemplated, subject to respect for the non-refoulement principle.

Read the full text of the proposal here.


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Tags: 
FRONTEX
European Commission