Frontex's expanding mandate: Has democratic control caught up?

Abstract

This article analyses to what extend the rapid growth of Frontex has been accompanied by adequate democratic accountability, whereby the author draws on her experiences as a Member of Parliament. She elaborates on the safeguards in legislation but also on their application in practice, with a focus on the lessons the Parliament learned from its own inquiry on the role of Frontex in pushbacks. The contribution subsequently puts democratic control to a test on two relatively recent tasks of Frontex: return and external cooperation. Regarding the latter, the Parliament's role is highlighted in the negotiations on the Frontex status agreements between the EU and Mauritania/Senegal. The article answers the question of what obstacles must be overcome, through legislative amendments or changes in practice and culture, for the Parliament to exercise its role effectively. Two of these factors are dealt with more prominently: transparency and cooperation with national parliaments.