Concerns grow over Frontex’s involvement in asylum seeker returns

Frontex’s role in returning rejected asylum-seekers should be monitored, especially in terms of the protection of fundamental rights, green MEP Tineke Strik tells Radio Schuman on Monday.

Earlier this month, the European Commission presented a new regulation that would – if approved – enable EU countries to transfer rejected asylum seekers to distant countries where they have never been before.

Although the law did not establish deportation centres or “return hubs”, it laid the groundwork for outsourcing the migration tasks to the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, Frontex.

 “I think we first need to make sure that Frontext is dealing with fundamental rights in a proper way, in line with EU law. And only then we can see what role they can take if it comes to third countries,” says Green MEP Tineke Strik, as the agency has been investigated in the past for human rights violations.

Today, Radio Schuman also takes a look at a discussion among agriculture ministers on the new Commission’s plans to change agriculture in Europe and also at a compilation by Euronews Culture on the things people miss the most from the March 2020 COVID-19 lockdown.

Radio Schuman is hosted and produced by Maïa de la Baume, with journalist and production assistant Eleonora Vasques, audio editing by David Brodheim. Music by Alexandre Jas