A European Ombudsman inquiry into Frontex’s role in search and rescue operations has shown that the current rules leave the EU’s Border and Coast Guard Agency unable fully to fulfil its fundamental rights obligations and too reliant on Member States to act when boats carrying migrants are in distress.

The inquiry was launched by Ombudsman Emily O’Reilly following the Adriana tragedy in June 2023, which resulted in over 600 people drowning off the coast of Greece. According to documents inspected during the inquiry, Frontex made four separate offers to assist the Greek authorities by providing aerial surveillance of the Adriana but received no response. The current rules mean that Frontex was not permitted to go to the Adriana’s location at critical periods without the Greek authorities’ permission.

Consequently, Frontex was at the scene of the Adriana only twice — once briefly by plane two hours after the Italian authorities first made the alert about the Adriana and then 18 hours later with a drone after the boat had already sunk.

The inquiry also showed that Frontex has no internal guidelines on issuing emergency signals (e.g. Mayday calls), and that there is a failure to ensure Frontex’s fundamental rights monitors are sufficiently involved in decision making on maritime emergencies.

The Ombudsman asked Frontex to address these and other shortcomings. She also said that, given growing concerns about fundamental rights violations in one Member State, Frontex should consider whether the threshold has been reached to allow it to formally end its activities with the Member State in question.

“We must ask ourselves why a boat so obviously in need of help never received that help despite an EU agency, two member states’ authorities, civil society, and private ships knowing of its existence.

Why did reports of overcrowding, an apparent lack of life vests, children on board, and possible fatalities fail to trigger timely rescue efforts that could have saved hundreds of lives,” said Emily O’Reilly.

“Frontex includes ‘coast guard’ in its name but its current mandate and mission clearly fall short of that. If Frontex has a duty to help save lives at sea, but the tools for it are lacking, then this is clearly a matter for EU legislators.

There is obvious tension between Frontex’s fundamental rights obligations and its duty to support Member States in border management control.”

“Cooperating with national authorities when there are concerns about them fulfilling their search and rescue obligations risks making the EU complicit in actions that violate fundamental rights and cost lives.”

General conclusions - public inquiry into deaths in Mediterranean Sea

Going beyond the inquiry and the suggestions concerning Frontex, the Ombudsman drew conclusions about broader systemic issues. She noted that while the Greek Ombudsman is investigating the actions of the Greek coastguard, there is no single accountability mechanism at EU level that could independently investigate the role of the Greek authorities, the role of Frontex, and the role of the European Commission, which is responsible for ensuring compliance with fundamental rights provisions under the EU treaties.

She called on the European Parliament, the Council of the European Union, and the Commission to establish an independent commission of inquiry to assess the reasons for the large numbers of deaths in the Mediterranean and to learn from the Adriana shipwreck.

“Nearly eight months after the Adriana incident, no changes have been made to prevent such an incident from reoccurring,” said the Ombudsman.

General conclusions
Decision in inquiry concerning Frontex’s role is search and rescue operations

Al igual que en los años anteriores, el Ararteko publica el resumen y las resoluciones dictadas en materia de prestaciones de renta de garantía de ingresos (RGI) y prestación complementaria de vivienda (PCV). Este año incorpora las que afectan al ingreso mínimo vital (IMV)

El documento contiene las recomendaciones y sugerencias publicadas en la página web del Ararteko, que ha dirigido al Departamento de Trabajo y Empleo del Gobierno Vasco en el año 2023 y un resumen de ellas. También incorpora la información de las recomendaciones y sugerencias que se han aceptado, las que están pendientes de respuesta y las que no se han aceptado. De las 10 emitidas, únicamente 1 ha sido aceptada, 7 constan como no aceptadas, y 2 corresponden a resoluciones conclusivas, en las que se analizan actuaciones que afectan al ingreso mínimo vital. 

Un número elevado de los expedientes de queja que se han concluido en el año 2023 se han cerrado estimando esta institución que se ha reconducido el problema objeto de la queja o que la actuación de Lanbide no ha sido incorrecta. Aunque es necesario destacar que la mayoría de las recomendaciones del Ararteko dirigidas al Departamento de Trabajo y Empleo en el año 2023 no se han aceptado, el Departamento de Trabajo y Empleo ha remitido un informe explicando las razones para su no aceptación, cuya síntesis se ha incorporado al presente documento recopilatorio.

Además, en el informe anual del Ararteko del año pasado, pusimos de relieve que de las 9 recomendaciones que se habían elevado en el año 2022, 7 se encontraban pendientes de respuesta. Pues bien, a lo largo del año 2023 se ha recibido la respuesta a dichas recomendaciones de las cuales 5 se han aceptado y 2 no se han aceptado. En el presente documento se informa, asimismo, de las respuestas recibidas.

El recopilatorio analiza las quejas referentes a la denegación, suspensión y extinción de la RGI y de la PCV, así como la reclamación de las prestaciones abonadas. Este año se ha incorporado las resoluciones que analizan actuaciones en materia de IMV. En su análisis el Ararteko valora los casos en los que la actuación de Lanbide no tiene amparo normativo suficiente o bien podría mejorarse desde el prisma del derecho a la buena administración.

A ello se unen las consideraciones relativas a las garantías necesarias que deben respetarse en cualquier procedimiento administrativo y pone de relieve su disconformidad con la interpretación que Lanbide-Servicio Vasco de Empleo realiza de la normativa vigente o con el peso probatorio que se otorga a determinados elementos frente a otros factores probatorios. 

Por último, en 2023 se ha acudido al procedimiento simplificado en el caso de 15 expedientes de queja de prestaciones de RGI y PCV. Se acude a este procedimiento en los expedientes de queja cuya litis ha sido objeto de varias resoluciones del Ararteko y debatida en las reuniones mantenidas entre personal de ambas instituciones, sin que Lanbide-Servicio Vasco de Empleo acepte las consideraciones del Ararteko.

DOCUMENTO

Vitoria-Gasteiz, 5 de marzo de 2024

The Commissioner for Environment and Planning, Perit Alan Saliba, following consultation with the Ombudsman Judge Emeritus Joseph Zammit McKeon, has initiated a comprehensive Own Initiative Investigation concerning permits issued for stables by the Planning Authority since the implementation of the Rural Policy and Design Guidance in 2014.

This proactive move aims to ensure that the process of issuing stable permits aligns with the guidelines and maintains integrity and transparency. The investigation will focus on several critical aspects to ascertain the adherence of the issued permits to the established policies and regulations.

Key Points of the Investigation

Verification of equine registration: The investigation will examine whether each stable permit correlates with a registered equine, ensuring that the facilities are utilised for their intended purpose.

Post-equine mortality measures: There will be an assessment of the steps taken by the Planning Authority when a registered equine, associated with a permitted stable, passes away to determine the subsequent use or modification of the stable.

Prevention of permit abuse: The inquiry will scrutinise the mechanisms in place to prevent the issuance of multiple permits for a single equine, especially in cases where the equine has multiple owners, to curb potential abuses in the permit process.

Ownership verification: A significant part of the investigation will focus on ensuring that permits are only granted to individuals who own equines, thereby preventing any misuse of the permitting system.

Consideration of local registrations: The Commissioner will also verify whether the Planning Authority prioritises local official equine registrations over foreign or non-local sources when issuing stable permits.

This initiative underscores the Office of the Ombudsman’s dedication in fostering accountability and transparency, ensuring that the Rural Policy and Design Guidelines are respected and meticulously followed.

Through this Own Initiative Investigation, the Office intends to make recommendations that will contribute to revising and enhancing the long-established rural policy.

„Bei der Volksanwaltschaft melden sich immer wieder Menschen, die sich dringend empfohlene Impfungen nicht leisten können. Ältere, bei denen es etwa um die Herpes-Zoster-Impfung geht, aber auch jüngere, die ein paar Hundert Euro für die HPV-Impfung hinlegen sollen“, sagt Volksanwalt Bernhard Achitz: „Dass nun Bewegung in die Sache kommt und die HPV-Impfung für alle unter 30 kostenlos werden soll, ist ein wichtiger Schritt. Das Ziel muss aber sein, dass alle Impfungen kostenlos sind, die vom Nationalen Impfgremium empfohlen werden.“

„Gesundheitsvorsorge muss man sich leisten können, auch hier gibt es immer noch Zwei-Klassen-Medizin. Jetzt die HPV-Impfung für mehr Menschen zugänglich zu machen, ist ein guter Ansatz, denn damit schützen sich die Geimpften nicht nur selbst, sondern auch andere“, sagt Achitz anlässlich des Internationalen HPV-Impftags am 4. März.

Die HPV-Durchimpfungsraten sind zu niedrig, und zuletzt wurde auch über Masern- und Keuchhusten-Impflücken und verstärktes Krankheitsaufkommen berichtet. Achitz: „Impfungen müssen nicht nur kostenlos sein, auch der Zugang könnte erleichtert werden, etwa durch öffentliche Impfstraßen mit zentralem Terminmanagement.“ Für das Gesundheitssystem wären die Impfkosten wohl auch billiger als die dadurch vermeidbaren Behandlungskosten – auch weil die öffentliche Hand die Kosten pro Impfdosis im Vergleich zum Apothekenverkauf deutlich herunterhandeln kann.

„Prävention hält gesund, erspart den Menschen viel Leid und dem Gesundheitssystem Geld für die Heilbehandlung. Dazu bekennen sich in der trockenen Theorie alle. In der Praxis hängt aber viel von Bildung und Einkommen ab“, sagt Volksanwalt Achitz.