Fundación CIDOB - Calle Elisabets, 12 - 08001 Barcelona, España - Tel. (+34) 93 302 6495 - Fax. (+34) 93 302 6495 - [email protected]
5th International Seminar
on Security and Defence
in the Mediterranean
Multi-Dimensional Security
The migration flows: An opportunity for cooperation in
the Mediterranean.
FRONTEX. The European agency for the management of operational
cooperation at the external borders of the member states of the
European Union.
Gil Arias Fernández
FRONTEX. THE EUROPEAN AGENCY FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF OPERATIONAL
COOPERATION AT THE EXTERNAL BORDERS OF THE MEMBER STATES OF THE
EUROPEAN UNION
Gil Arias Fernández
Deputy Executive Director, FRONTEX
Role of FRONTEX
The European Agency for the Management of Operational Cooperation
at the External Borders of the Member States of the European Union
(FRONTEX) is a Community Body established by the EU Council
Regulation (EC) No 2007/2004 of 26 October 2004. FRONTEX main
purpose is the coordination of intelligence driven operational cooperation
at EU level to strengthen security at external borders. FRONTEX focuses
on six principal areas:
1. Carrying out risk analyses.
2. Coordination of operational cooperation between Member Sates in
the field of management of external borders.
3. Assistance to Member States in the training of national border
guards, including the establishment of common training standards.
4. Following up the development of research relevant for the control
and surveillance of external borders.
5. Assistance to Member States in circumstances requiring increased
technical and operational assistance at external borders.
6. Providing Member States with the necessary support in organizing
joint return operations.
Finally, FRONTEX also provides the European Commission and the
Member States with necessary technical assistance and expertise.
Activities carried out in the Mediterranean and the
Atlantic: POSEIDON, NAUTILUS and HERA
POSEIDON
The main aim of Joint Operation (JO) “Poseidon” was to tackle illegal
migration flows by sea, which are organized by criminal networks using
vessels of any type in the Eastern Mediterranean EU Member-States’
maritime borders and more specific to the Aegean Sea. This JO was
implemented during ten days (between 25 June and 5 July 2006) in two
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1.
All activities that will have legally
binding consequences (arrests,
apprehensions,
detentions,
interviewing) were carried out by
national authorities
geographic areas: at land borders and at sea borders. The basic methods
used during the operation were1:
• Surveillance of maritime traffic (vessels, boats, yachts, etc.)
• Checking of suspicious vehicles, vessels, boats, yachts, persons,
objects, etc.
• Detection of transportation means used for illegal activities
• Apprehension of persons involved in illegal activities (illegal border
crossing, smuggling, trafficking etc.)
As far as the land borders geographic area is concerned, Poseidon
focused on the Greek-Turkish Borders. The Joint Operation was
implemented at the Border Crossing Point of Kipi, which is the most
important crossing point between Greece and Turkey. At the same time
the operation was implemented at the green borders between the two
countries in order to detect illegal migrants crossing the borders illegally.
Respecting to sea borders geographic area, the joint operation was
implemented during ten day at the areas of Eastern Aegean Sea (for
flows coming from Turkey coasts); Central Aegean Sea (for flows from
Bosporus, Turkey coasts and Egyptian coasts) as well as Ports of Patras
Igoumenitsa Bridisi Angona (For extra Schengen controls and second
line police controls).
Two EU Member States, Greece and Italy, participated actively in this
operation. Furthermore, FRONTEX (as an official organization),
Germany, France, Spain, United Kingdom, Albania, Austria, Romania,
Ukraine and Italy as well as EUROPOL participated as observers. The
competent authorities carried out controls of crew, cargo, passengers,
and vehicles of vessels and ferries, in protected areas of specific Greek
and Italian ports (Patra, Igoumenitsa, Bari and Brindisi). Several Hellenic
Patrol Vessels carried out checks and patrols in pre-selected sea regions
in the East Aegean Sea (Mitilini Island, Chios Island, and Samos Island).
NAUTILUS
In accordance with Article 8 of FRONTEX Regulation, Malta requested
FRONTEX support in a situation requiring increased technical and
operational assistance. Two operations were prepared in the region.
Within the first one, a group of experts dealing with identification of
migrants started working in Malta on 1 August 2006, including experts
from the UK, Denmark, Hungary, Germany and Italy. Besides, a joint sea
operation was conducted to tackle the migration flow in the Central
Mediterranean region targeting Malta and Italy. The operation, in which
five Member States participated (Malta, Italy, Greece, France and
Germany), took place between 5 and 15 October 2006.
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FRONTEX. THE EUROPEAN AGENCY FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF OPERATIONAL COOPERATION AT THE EXTERNAL
BORDERS OF THE MEMBER STATES OF THE EUROPEAN UNION
NAUTILUS
Italy
Greece
Tunisia
Malta
MIGRATION FLOW MALTA
Identification experts
NAUTILUS
Joint patrols;
IT, MT, EL, FR, DE
Outside of Libyan territorial waters
To prevent and divert
Libya
Source: FRONTEX
HERA
After having been addressed by the Spanish authorities to support their
activities tackling the migration flow towards the Canary Islands and
based on the results of its fact finding mission, FRONTEX launched a
joint operation in the area. Operational assistance for Spain consists of
two modules: expert assistance and joint operation on the sea.
The deployment of experts (HERA I) was commenced already on 30 June
2006 when a group of experts from the Member States arrived in the
Canary Islands to support the Spanish authorities in identification of the
migrants and establishment of their countries of origin. These activities
included the involvement of France, Portugal, Italy, Germany, United
Kingdom, The Netherlands and Norway.
The second module – joint surveillance operation called HERA II, having
started on 11 August - brought together technical border surveillance
equipment from several Member States with the aim to enhance the control of the area between the West African coast and the Canary Islands,
thus diverting the vessels using this migration route and contributing to the
reduction of human lives lost at sea during the dangerous long journey.
Apart from Spanish vessels and helicopters, the operation included one
Portuguese and one Italian vessel; and one Italian and one Finnish air craft.
The duration of the operation was 9 weeks, later prolonged until 15
December 2006. A Finnish aircraft was used during the prolongation.
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HERA I and HERA II
Morocco
HERA I
Identification
experts;
ES, IT, PT, FR,
DE, NL, DK, UK
Canary Islands
Patrol
enlargement
Western Sahara
HERA II
Joint patrols;
ES, IT, PT, FI, FR
Mauritania
Cape Verde
Senegal
To prevent and divert
Source: FRONTEX
ZONE 1
MAURITANIA
ZONE 2
CAPE VERDE
ZONE 5
ZONE 3
SENEGAL
ZONE 4
GAMBIA
GUINEA BISSAU
GUINEA
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FRONTEX. THE EUROPEAN AGENCY FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF OPERATIONAL COOPERATION AT THE EXTERNAL
BORDERS OF THE MEMBER STATES OF THE EUROPEAN UNION
Running Projects related to Southern Sea Borders and
Mediterranean Region: MEDSEA and BORTEC
The Presidency Conclusions of European Council meeting of 15/16
December 2005 gave FRONTEX a number of tasks in the Mediterranean
region. In reaction to the conclusions, a Risk Analysis report on Africa
has been produced by FRONTEX to present an overview of the situation
in the region, assess the needs and propose possible solutions. The
European Council also called FRONTEX to:
• Launch a feasibility study on reinforcing monitoring and surveillance
of the Southern Maritime borders of the EU, namely in the
Mediterranean Sea, and on the possibility of creating a Mediterranean
Coastal Patrols Network involving EU Member States and North
African countries, as early as possible in 2006 (MEDSEA).
• Explore the technical feasibility of establishing a surveillance system
covering the whole southern maritime borders of the EU and the
Mediterranean Sea by the end of 2006. Such a system would use
modern technology with the aim of saving lives at sea and tackling
illegal immigration (BORTEC).
MEDSEA
The aim of the feasibility report (MEDSEA) was to study the reinforcing
monitoring and surveillance of the southern maritime border of the EU,
and more concretely in the Mediterranean Sea, and the possibility of
creating a Mediterranean Coastal Patrols Network involving EU Member
States and North African countries. When created, the Network would
enhance the management of security risks in sea zones and enhance
daily cooperation. Such a network would serve not only as a reliable
platform for regular exchange of information but also as a platform for
jointly planned border control measures and FRONTEX coordinated joint
operations.
The main conclusion in the study as shown in the above indicative diagram is the setting up of two-level structure consisting of:
• Level I: National Coordination Centres (NCC) in each Mediterranean
Member State will be connected to a FRONTEX network to ensure the
cooperation and coordination of activity at the maritime borders and
areas.
• Level II: Each NCC shall be connected to Operational Entities (in each
Operational Area -OA-) at national level. The operational working
concept would depend on the cooperation between them, both at
national level and also between Member States.
NCCs are the multiplier and would fully ensure the communication
between the two levels.
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MEDSEA Structure
Level I: National Coordination Centers
FRONTEX
Communication System
NCC-CY
NCC-EL NCC-MT
NCC-SI
Third
Country-A
OA
OA
OA
NCC-ES
NCC-FR
NCC-PT
Third
Country-B
OA
OA
OA
OA
NCC-IT
OA
OA
OA
OA
OA
OA
OA
OA
OA
OA
OA
OA
OA
OA
OA
Level II: Operational Areas
MEDITERRANEAN
ATLANTIC
BORTEC
Besides, FRONTEX is now working on another study aimed at exploring
the technical feasibility of establishing a surveillance system covering the
whole southern maritime border of the EU and the Mediterranean Sea
(BORTEC). Such a system would use modern technology with the aim of
saving lives at sea and tackling illegal immigration. The main objectives
are the following ones:
• Overview of the existing technologies in use, the different areas of
coverage and their technical solution, and the needs and wishes for
further development.
• Definition and overview of the technical management system for
different technologies and their possible compatibility with other
ones.
• Overview of area which is not covered by any systems today and
which systems are covering the neighbouring area.
• Technical feasibility to have a surveillance system covering the
southern maritime borders of EU.
As it was for the MEDSEA study, a Core Team consisting of experts from
Member States and experts from FRONTEX staff are elaborating the
study. Additionally the JRC (European Joint Research Centre in Ispra,
Italy) contributes to the study with one expert to the Core Team.
Moreover, a Support Group has been established with similar tasks to
the ones already performed during MEDSEA Project.
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FRONTEX. THE EUROPEAN AGENCY FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF OPERATIONAL COOPERATION AT THE EXTERNAL
BORDERS OF THE MEMBER STATES OF THE EUROPEAN UNION
Role of Armed Forces in the control of migration flows:
Possibilities for cooperation
The EU and other international entities and bodies responsible for
security and defence related issues are not the main priority for
FRONTEX while establishing external relations with international
Organizations. Nevertheless, we can identify some areas where the
activities carried out by Security and Defence Organizations, mainly EDA
(European Defence Agency) and NATO (North Atlantic Treaty
Organization) can be linked to some extent to the ones assigned to
FRONTEX: they are mainly the areas related to border security issues. In
general terms, the areas where FRONTEX might establish in the
forthcoming future some kind of cooperation with these two
Organizations are research and technology, training and exchange of
information and risk analysis.
Finally it is also necessary to stress that the control of the borders can
benefit from experiences at national and European level with similar
surveillance systems. Possible synergies with existing European
surveillance systems for other activities, namely those performed by
Armed Forces, should also be explored.
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