The Management Board takes note of the report on the implementation of the new Standard Operation procedure of Serious Incident Reports (SIR SOP). The Board thanks the Fundamental Rights Officer for his engagement and tenacity in following up on and clarifying allegations against members of the European Border and Coast Guard and of the European Border and Coast Guard Agency and stresses the importance of the Serious Incident Reporting mechanism for ensuring the legally compliant implementation of Frontex’s operational activities, especially with regard – but not limited - to the respect of fundamental rights.
The Management Board takes note that the Fundamental Rights Officer’s ability to perform his duties under the Regulation cannot be satisfied without the active support and cooperation of the Member States. As such, it is incumbent upon the Member States to constructively and fully support the Fundamental Rights Officer as he conducts his investigations, in particular by providing all relevant information in response to his enquiries in a timely and transparent manner.
The Management Board recalls that under Article 11 of the Regulation, national authorities responsible for border management and for return are duty-bound to “cooperate in good faith”. Furthermore, under Article 12 of the Regulation, these authorities shall share all necessary information “in a timely and accurate manner.”
On that basis, the Management Board has drawn the
following conclusions:
1. It reiterates its request to the Member
States to actively and fully support the Fundamental Rights Officer as he
conducts his investigations, in particular by providing – in a timely
manner – all relevant information in response to his enquiries, noting
that failure to do so could represent a reputational risk for the Agency;
2. It requests the Fundamental Rights Officer
to offer the relevant Member State authorities training and/or guidance on
fundamental rights obligations, on how to follow-up on allegations of
misconduct and how to provide support to the Fundamental Rights Officer inquiries,
when conducting his own investigations;
3. It requests that the Fundamental Rights
Officer reports to the Management Board at regular intervals on the
quality of his interactions with the Member States, underlining best
practices and areas of improvement in this regard.