Access to Documents and the EU Agency Frontex: Growing Pains or Outright Obstruction?

Forthcoming, (In)visible European Government: Critical Approaches to Transparency as an Ideal and a Practice (Routledge), edited by Maarten Hillebrandt, Päivi Leino-Sandberg, and Ida Koivisto.

Helsinki Legal Studies Research Paper No. 75

22 Pages Posted: 28 Mar 2022 Last revised: 12 Apr 2022

See all articles by Melanie Fink

Melanie Fink

Leiden University - Europa Institute; Católica Global School of Law; Central European University (CEU) - Department of Legal Studies

Maarten Hillebrandt

Wageningen University & Research; University of Helsinki - Faculty of Law

Date Written: December 21, 2021

Abstract

A series of recent high-publicity scandals and inquiries have thrown the limelight on the functioning of the European Border and Coastguard Agency, more commonly known as Frontex. Over the course of 15 years, it grew from a small agency with a budget of just over EUR 19 million in its first full year of operation to a major actor in the EU’s border management policy with an over EUR 540 million budget and with staff that can exercise executive powers on the ground and carry firearms. In recent years, Frontex has increasingly come under scrutiny for the human rights impact of its activities its lack of accountability, in part due the secrecy surrounding the agency’s activities. This chapter explores Frontex’s implementation of the EU right of public access to documents. The analysis reveals that Frontex’s specific interpretation of the public access to documents regime is very restrictive, at times amounting to outright obstruction. Especially in light of the further growth Frontex is envisaged to undergo within the coming years, it is of crucial importance that its implementation of the public access documents regime is brought into full compliance, not just with the letter, but also the spirit, of the law.

Keywords: European law, Frontex, transparency, access to documents, proactive disclosure

Suggested Citation

Fink, Melanie and Hillebrandt, Maarten, Access to Documents and the EU Agency Frontex: Growing Pains or Outright Obstruction? (December 21, 2021). Forthcoming, (In)visible European Government: Critical Approaches to Transparency as an Ideal and a Practice (Routledge), edited by Maarten Hillebrandt, Päivi Leino-Sandberg, and Ida Koivisto., Helsinki Legal Studies Research Paper No. 75, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4068120

Melanie Fink (Contact Author)

Leiden University - Europa Institute ( email )

Steenschuur 25
Leiden, 2311ES
Netherlands

Católica Global School of Law ( email )

Lisbon
Portugal

Central European University (CEU) - Department of Legal Studies ( email )

Vienna
Austria

Maarten Hillebrandt

Wageningen University & Research ( email )

P.O. Box 47
6700 AA
Netherlands

University of Helsinki - Faculty of Law ( email )

Porthania 5th Floor
P.O. Box 4
Helsinki, FIN-0001 4
Finland

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