As an EU agency operating at the external borders of the EU, Frontex is actively involved in combating illegal migration. Since a rising number of migrants drown in the Mediterranean Sea or are pushed back to unsafe third countries, Frontex is being accused by human rights organizations for violating the fundamental rights of the EU. The Agency however maintains that it can’t be held accountable for human rights violations, as it is only assisting Member States, and not taking over their responsibility. This article analyses if this position is correct in the light of the growing tasks and mandate Frontex is granted by the EU.

In light of the high numbers of persons entering the EU via the southern borders and the current uneven distribution of asylum seekers (five Member States of the EU currently received in 2014 more than 70% of the total amount of refugees), there is a clear and urgent need for the EU ministers to ensure a fairer distribution of asylum seekers within the EU. The Dublin Regulation’s system of allocating the responsibility for an asylum request does not offer a solution for this challenge, also because Member States cannot have a blind faith in the standards of a number of states for processing asylum requests. There are significant differences in the application of the law and the procedures.