As one of the two bodies to exercise the legislative function of the EU, the European Parliament, along with the Council of the European Union, negotiates and adopts the legislative mandates of EU agencies, including that of Frontex.
The European Border and Coast Guard Regulation clearly sets out, in its Article 7 on Accountability, that “the Agency shall be accountable to the European Parliament and to the Council in accordance with this Regulation.”
The Frontex mandate also defines a number of additional reporting and notification obligations related to the Council. In particular, the agency provides the Council with risk analysis products, vulnerability assessment results, financial and operational needs, and the annual activity and single programming documents.
Frontex may also be requested to present its work or provide technical expertise in support of the Council’s deliberations. For instance, the Frontex Executive Director is regularly invited to attend, alongside the ministers of the Member States, the meetings of the Justice and Home Affairs Council. The agency may also be invited to participate at Council Committee or Working Party level, particularly the Working Party on Frontiers, the Strategic Committee on Immigration, Frontiers and Asylum (SCIFA), and the Standing Committee on Operational Cooperation on Internal Security (COSI).
Finally the Council has an important role in the procedure laid down in Article 19 of the European Border and Coast Guard Regulation for situations at the external borders requiring urgent action. In cases where control of the external borders is rendered ineffective to such an extent that it risks jeopardising the functioning of the Schengen area, the Council, on the basis of a Commission proposal, may adopt a decision identifying measures to mitigate those risks. Frontex and the Member State concerned would then be required to cooperate in the implementation of those measures.