Accountability of Frontex in EU Border Management

Since its inception in 2005, the EU Border Agency Frontex has been accused of a lack of accountability, particularly in terms of democracy and the rule of law. At the same time, numerous EU institutions such as the European Parliament, the European Ombudsman, the European Court of Auditors and the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF), as well as internal Frontex bodies such as the Fundamental Rights Officer and the Consultative Forum, have scrutinized Frontex`s activities in light of numerous allegations and complaints. Despite the political relevance of these institutional activities, little academic effort has been made to study the role of and interaction among these EU institutions. Addressing this research gap, this project asks about the roles of these accountability fora and their interaction with one another. Specifically, the project is interested if these interactions are shaped by cooperation or conflict. We expect interorganizational cooperation if it facilitates the achievement of the objectives of the actors involved or enhance the accountability of the EU more broadly. By contrast, we expect interorganizational conflict if the behaviour of the actors involved makes the realisation of their objectives more difficult. In addition, we also ask whether the activities of the aforementioned EU institutions influence the protection of fundamental rights of migrants and refugees. Should the EU institutions find that Frontex`s activities violate the fundamental rights of migrants, we expect a change in the agency`s behaviour. If, on the other hand, the EU institutions` investigations reveal that Frontex only violates rules that do not threaten the EU`s normative power, it will only change `secondary` aspects of its current border practices. The empirical part of the project can be divided into two sections. The first section is mainly descriptive and aims to collect and systematize all Frontex-related investigations carried out by the above- mentioned EU institutions between 2005 and 2022. The second part is a case study of the investigations conducted by the European Parliament, OLAF, the European Court of Auditors and the European Ombudsman`s Office in the period 2019-2022. To analyse the relationship between these various EU institutions and to examine their impact on fundamental rights, the project will apply a process-tracing analysis. The project relies on document analysis and elite interviews with actors from all selected EU institutions. The project aims to advance the knowledge in three major debates, namely studies on EU agencies, particularly on Frontex, on accountability and on so far under-researched EU bodies such as the European Ombudsman, the European Court of Auditors and OLAF as well as on Frontexs internal bodies such as the Fundamental Rights Officer and the Consultative Forum.