Serbian Parliament has adopted the Law on the ratification of the agreement with Frontex

The Agreement on the Status between the Republic of Serbia and the EU on Actions Implemented by the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex) in the Republic of Serbia officially came into force on 10.03.2021, after it was adopted by the National Parliament on 25.02.2021. This agreement was adopted unanimously in the National Parliament - all 186 parliamentarians who were present at the session voted for the ratification of the agreement, while none of them voted against it or abstained.

The ratification of the Agreement between Serbia and Frontex went quite unnoticed - none of the domestic media reported this news, nor did the relevant actors in the area of migration and asylum comment on this topic.

Aleksandar Vulin, the Minister of the Interior, stated in his introductory speech at the Parliament session: "We all know how many times our fellow citizens, our neighbors, express their fears about the presence of migrants, the possibility of them coming uncontrollably, the possibility of moving or settling in our space. This is one of the agreements that allow us to fight against such phenomena, to preserve the everyday form, the everyday way of our life, which allows us to preserve our space, our territory, but also, more important than the territory, the ability to live as we are used to. (…) The migrant crisis will last and it is up to us to fight its consequences, to preserve the ability of the state of Serbia to react humanely, responsibly, organized but never to allow our country to become a parking lot for migrants, to turn our country into an uncontrolled space, for anyone to settle and enter on its territory as they wish.”

During the parliamentary debate on the ratification of the Agreement with Frontex, praise was mostly heard about the Agreement itself and the importance of the arrival of Frontex officials on the territory of Serbia. MP Vladan Glisic, who entered the Serbian Parliament as an MP on the list “SPAS” but is now an independent MP, was the only one pointing out that it is "problematic" that Frontex officers will not bear criminal or civil responsibility for their actions before Serbian courts. However, he immediately continued with xenophobic rhetoric, saying "We know that young men capable of military training and activity cannot be refugees, but people who fled instead of solving their problems and fighting for their homeland, and the question is on what task do they go to other countries? ” Minister Vulin responded to these accusations by explaining that Frontex employees will have functional immunity, ie while performing their function. The Minister further explained that "if that function is to be on the border from 2 pm to 4 pm, for any reason, then they are protected. At 4:01 pm, they are not protected from anything. ”KlikAktiv has repeatedly stated that any kind of immunity given to Frontex employees is, to say the least, very dangerous because it will cause serious consequences for the lives and safety of asylum seekers and refugees. The message that Frontex officials will be able to commit crimes with impunity only while they are at the border, and that these crimes will therefore be directed only at asylum seekers, must not be taken so lightly.

MP Samira Cosovic, from the Social Democratic Party, pointed out: "When the Agreement is finalized, the Frontex officers at the Serbian borders will get the right to conduct checks at border crossings together with Serbian border guards. They will also patrol along the border and monitor it, while some technical equipment will also be used. "KlikAktiv reminds that, on the other hand, domestic laws do not allow independent civil society organizations to monitor the border, and that so far there hasn’t been any independent report on respect of the right to asylum and access to the territory at the Serbian borders.

KlikAktiv will monitor the development of the situation on the ground and the activities of Frontex employees on the territory of Serbia and at the end of this post we convey the words of MP Dusica Stojkovic: "By protecting our borders, we do not only protect our country, but we also protect EU citizens and the EU."