Certain EU member states have “failed shamelessly” in living up to their commitments to Frontex, the EU’s border control agency, by providing a “fictitious list” of assets to have been made available for this year’s operations, Maltese European parliamentarian Simon Busuttil told the European Parliament yesterday.
Dr Busuttil also called for the agency’s budget allocation for sea border patrols, an area vital for Malta in stemming the migratory flow next spring and summer, to be boosted from the EUR10 million (Lm4.29 million) so far on the table.
Following a recent positive vote by the European Parliament’s Budgetary Committee to effectively double next year’s Frontex operational budget, the EP yesterday got down to debating an approval of the budget in its plenary session in Strasbourg as part of the first reading of the EU budget for 2008.
The original Frontex budget motion within the budgetary committee had been moved by the European Peoples Party on the initiative of Dr Busuttil.
Speaking at yesterday’s plenary session, Dr Busuttil insisted that a caveat added by the Committee that would see close to one-third of the agency’s administrative budget frozen is adhered to. The condition withholds the portion of the budget until Frontex improves its accountability and effectiveness in seeing member states delivering on their commitments on the supply of equipment, expertise, aircraft and seacraft.
Listing out three conditions needing to be fulfilled for the full administrative budget to be released, Dr Busuttil yesterday insisted Frontex supplies a “more realistic” chart of its assets in terms of boats, planes and helicopters that have been pledged by member states for its missions – a major bone of contention between the European Commission and certain member states, although Mr Frattini has in the past been reluctant to ‘name and shame’.
“This year we were given a fictitious list,” Dr Busuttil told yesterday’s plenary. “Member states had pledged as many as 21 planes, 27 helicopters and 117 boats. But we all know that, in practice, they failed shamelessly to live up to their commitments. We therefore expect a realistic and reliable list of assets as a condition for releasing these funds.”
Dr Busuttil also stipulated the agency’s head would have to enter into a “regular” dialogue with the EP with a view to increasing the agency’s accountability. Moreover, Frontex would also be required to present an updated working plan for 2008 that would take into account the scope of the new budget as well as the agency’s new needs.
In this vein, Dr Busuttil commented, “Since Commission Vice-President Frattini stated that Frontex would embark on permanent missions in the Mediterranean from next year, we now expect the agency to increase its budget allocation for sea border missions from the EUR10 million projected so far.”