Introduction

The European Border and Coast Guard Regulation (2019/1896) requires that Frontex’s Fundamental Rights Officer publishes annual reports on the activities of the Fundamental Rights Office and ‘the extent to which the activities of the Agency respect fundamental rights’, including ‘information on the complaints mechanism and the implementation of the fundamental rights strategy’ (Article 109(4)).

The European Border and Coast Guard Regulation is an essential legal instrument to strengthen border management and security within the European Union (EU). The Regulation establishes the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex) with an expanded mandate and resources to effectively protect the EU’s external borders, while upholding the fundamental rights of individuals.

The Fundamental Rights Office (FRO) is an integral, albeit independent, part of Frontex, responsible for monitoring and advising on all activities carried out by the Agency to ensure compliance with EU fundamental rights and international human rights standards.

This Annual Report outlines the main observations and recommendations provid- ed to the Agency, including the Executive Director and the Management Board throughout the year. The recommendations are increasingly informed by the various tools, including monitoring in the field, complaints, 1 and serious incident reporting;2 as well as desk research. This Annual Report also provides an update on the implementation of the Fundamental Rights Strategy and its Action Plan, both adopted in 2021 by the Agency’s Management Board.

The Annual Report consists of six chapters. Beginning with a brief overview of positive developments and main areas of concern, the first chapter then presents the findings of fundamental rights monitoring, including country-specific monitoring, conducted within the Agency’s operational activities in the reporting period.

The second chapter focuses on the reporting and accountability mechanisms, and the fundamental rights safeguards guiding the work of the Fundamental Rights Office. It outlines the most recent developments and provides a statistical overview of the number and type of the received serious incident reports and complaints. The third chapter aims to inform on capacity building activities.

The fourth and fifth chapters give accounts of the internal process strengthened during the year and the cooperation of the Fundamental Rights Office with internal units for the purpose of enhancing the fundamental rights compliance of the Agency, as well as an update on the collaboration with the Consultative Forum and with third countries. Lastly, the work of the Fundamental Rights Office, in line with the Fundamental Rights Action Plan is presented, following up on the recommendations from different entities and advisory working groups.

The sixth chapter provides an overview of the Fundamental Rights Office recommendations in border management as well as of recommendations issued by the European Ombudsman, the Frontex Scrutiny Working Group of the European Parliament (FSWG) and the Working Group on Fundamental Rights, Legal and Operational Aspects of Operations (FRaLO) of relevance to fundamental rights. The seventh and concluding chapter includes the Fundamental Rights Officer’s planned actions and priorities for 2023.

1 Frontex Complaints Mechanism was established in 2016 with the purpose to monitor and ensure respect for fundamental rights in all the activities of the Agency. It is an administrative mechanism where the Fundamental Rights Officer is responsible for handling complaints in accordance with the right to good administration.

2 The Serious Incident Reporting is an Agency-wide mechanism that obliges participants in Frontex activities to report, inter alia, potential violations of fundamental rights directly to the Fundamental Rights Office. In its capacity as designated handler for such cases, the Office will then follow up and, where reported information meets the threshold of a Serious Incident, launch investigations into cases.