Frontex and the diverging interests of particular member states of the EU facing the challenge of irregular migration in the central Mediterranean : case study : Italy and Malta

Abstract

A perceived need to adopt EU measures to ensure more effective operational cooperation with regards to border control was first addressed by the Council's 2002 Action Plan on external borders, which considered the issues of coordination and cooperation, risk analysis, joint use of personal and equipment as well as legislation. This led to the birth of the Council Regulation (EC) No 2007 /2004 of 26 October 2004 establishing a European Agency for the Management of Operational Cooperation at the External Borders of the Member States of the European Union. However, the EU action is only complementing the competences and actions of particular member states which in many instances (like in the area of residence pennits, asylum decision, reception of refugees, external border management) retain exclusive competences. Although, the European Commission aims at assisting member states in managing the influx of migrants and asylum seekers and protecting the life of migrants trying to reach European shores, the ambition of the EU to make its territory an area of protection for those non-EU nationals arriving in Europe away from persecution or violence, encounters several obstacles. During the times of increased influx of migrants trying to reach Europe by sea from Northern Africa, the affected member states can, at least in theory, count on Frontex to support them by means of technical and operational assistance: 'under the circumstances referred to in paragraph 1, the Agency can: (a) assist on matters of coordination between two or more member States with a view to tackling the problems encountered at external borders' . 1 Thus, the following research aims at assessing the current mechanism of assisting EU member states having to respond to the complex challenge of irregular migration through maritime borders and the role that Frontex can play in that respect considering the existing legislation. The research will also aim at assessing how. the diverging interests (of different member states) can be reconciled within a European Agency such as Frontex. The study will focus on the EU's Central Mediterranean member states: Italy and Malta, which means that an elaboration on the idea of burden sharing with regards to irregular migration into the EU will be necessary.