1.   The Agency shall perform the following tasks:

2.   The Agency shall communicate on matters falling within its mandate. It shall provide the public with accurate, detailed, timely and comprehensive information about its activities.

Such communication shall not be detrimental to the tasks referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article, and in particular shall not reveal operational information which, if made public, would jeopardise attainment of the objective of operations. The Agency shall communicate without prejudice to Article 92 and in accordance with relevant communication and dissemination plans adopted by the management board and in close cooperation, where appropriate, with other bodies, offices and agencies.

1.   In order to perform the tasks conferred on them by this Regulation, the Agency, the national authorities responsible for border management, including coast guards to the extent that they carry out border control tasks, and the national authorities responsible for return shall, in accordance with this Regulation and other relevant Union and national law regarding the exchange of information, share in a timely and accurate manner all necessary information.

2.   The Agency shall take appropriate measures to facilitate the exchange of information relevant to its tasks with the Commission and the Member States.

Where information is relevant to the performance of its tasks, the Agency shall exchange that information with other relevant Union bodies, offices and agencies for the purpose of risk analysis, collecting statistical data, assessing the situation in third countries, training and the support to Member States in connection with contingency planning. For that purpose, the necessary tools and structures shall be developed between the Union bodies, offices and agencies.

3.   The Agency shall take all necessary measures to facilitate the exchange of information relevant for its tasks with Ireland and the United Kingdom where that information relates to the activities in which they participate in accordance with Article 70 and Article 100(5).

1.   Each Member State shall appoint a national contact point for communication with the Agency on all matters pertaining to the activities of the Agency, without prejudice to the role of the national coordination centres. The national contact points shall be reachable at all times and shall ensure the timely dissemination of all information from the Agency to all the relevant authorities within the Member State concerned, in particular the members of the management board and the national coordination centre.

2.   Member States may designate up to two staff members representing their national contact point to be assigned to the Agency as liaison officers. The liaison officers shall facilitate communication between the national contact point and the Agency and may, where necessary, attend relevant meetings.

3.   The Agency shall provide liaison officers with the necessary premises within its headquarters and with adequate support for the performance of their duties. All other costs that arise in connection with the deployment of liaison officers shall be covered by the Member State. The management board shall specify the rules and conditions of the deployment, as well as the rules concerning adequate support to be provided.

1.   The Agency shall establish and maintain a communication network in order to provide communication and analytical tools and allow for the exchange of sensitive non-classified and classified information in a secure manner and in near real time with, and among, the national coordination centres.

Any system or application using the communication network shall comply with Union law on data protection throughout its life cycle.

The communication network shall be operational twenty-four hours a day and seven days a week and shall allow for:

2.   The Agency shall provide technical support and ensure that the communication network is permanently available and can support the communication and information system managed by the Agency.

1.   The Agency may take all necessary measures to facilitate the exchange of information relevant to its tasks with the European Parliament, the Council, the Commission, the Member States and, where appropriate, other Union institutions, and the Union bodies, offices and agencies and international organisations listed in Article 68(1) and third countries as referred to in Article 71.

2.   The Agency shall develop, deploy and operate an information system capable of exchanging classified and sensitive non-classified information with the actors referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article, and of exchanging personal data referred to in Articles 86 to 91 in accordance with Article 92.

3.   The Agency shall deploy the information systems referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article on the communication network referred to in Article 14 as appropriate.

1.   EUROSUR shall be used for border checks at authorised border crossing points and for external land, sea and air border surveillance, including the monitoring, detection, identification, tracking, prevention and interception of unauthorised border crossings for the purpose of detecting, preventing and combating illegal immigration and cross-border crime and contributing to ensuring the protection and saving the lives of migrants.

2.   EUROSUR shall not be used for any legal or administrative measure taken once the competent authorities of a Member State have intercepted cross-border criminal activities or unauthorised crossings by persons of the external borders.

1.   Member States and the Agency shall use EUROSUR for the exchange of information and for the cooperation in the field of border control, taking into account existing information exchange and cooperation mechanisms. EUROSUR shall consist of the following components:

2.   The national coordination centres shall provide the Agency, via the communication network referred to in Article 14 and relevant systems, with information from their national situational pictures and, as appropriate, from specific situational pictures, which is required for the establishment and maintenance of the European situational picture.

3.   The Agency shall give the national coordination centres, via the communication network, unlimited access twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, to specific situational pictures and to the European situational picture.

1.   Each Member State shall designate, operate and maintain a national coordination centre which shall coordinate, and exchange information among, all authorities having responsibility for external border control at national level, as well as with the other national coordination centres and the Agency. Each Member State shall notify the establishment of its national coordination centre to the Commission, which shall forthwith inform the other Member States and the Agency thereof.

2.   Without prejudice to Article 13 and within the framework of EUROSUR, the national coordination centre shall be the single point of contact for the exchange of information and for the cooperation with other national coordination centres and with the Agency.

3.   The national coordination centres shall:

4.   Member States may charge regional, local, functional or other authorities which are in a position to take operational decisions with ensuring situational awareness and reaction capability in their respective areas of competence, including the tasks and competences listed in points (c), (e) and (f) of paragraph 3.

5.   The decision of a Member State to allocate tasks in accordance with paragraph 4 shall not affect the national coordination centre in its ability to cooperate and exchange information with other national coordination centres and the Agency.

6.   In pre-defined cases, as determined at national level, a national coordination centre may authorise an authority referred to in paragraph 4 to communicate and exchange information with the regional authorities or the national coordination centre of another Member State or the competent authorities of a third country on condition that such authorised authority regularly informs its own national coordination centre of such communication and exchange of information.

7.   The national coordination centre shall operate twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.

1.   The Commission shall, in close cooperation with the Agency and any other relevant Union body, office or agency, adopt and make available a practical handbook for the implementation and management of EUROSUR (the ‘EUROSUR Handbook’). The EUROSUR Handbook shall provide technical and operational guidelines, recommendations and best practices, including in relation to cooperation with third countries. The Commission shall adopt the EUROSUR Handbook in the form of a recommendation.

2.   The Commission may decide, after consultation with Member States and the Agency, to classify parts of the EUROSUR Handbook as RESTREINT UE/EU RESTRICTED in compliance with the rules laid down in the Rules of Procedure of the Commission.

1.   The Agency and the Member States shall ensure that procedures are in place to monitor the technical and operational functioning of EUROSUR against the objectives of achieving an adequate situational awareness and reaction capability at the external borders.

2.   The Agency shall continuously monitor the quality of the service offered by the communication network referred to in Article 14 and the quality of the data shared in the European situational picture.

3.   The Agency shall transmit information collected as part of the monitoring under paragraph 2 to the national coordination centres and the relevant command and control structures used for the Agency's operations as part of the EUROSUR fusion services. Such information shall be classified RESTREINT UE/EU RESTRICTED.

1.   The national situational pictures, the European situational picture and the specific situational pictures shall be produced through the collection, evaluation, collation, analysis, interpretation, generation, visualisation and dissemination of information.

The situational pictures referred to in the first subparagraph shall consist of the following information layers:

2.   The situational pictures referred to in paragraph 1 shall allow for the identification and tracing of events, operations and corresponding analysis relating to situations where human lives are at risk.

3.   The Commission shall adopt an implementing act laying down the details of the information layers of the situational pictures and the rules for the establishment of specific situational pictures. The implementing act shall specify the type of information to be provided, the entities responsible for collecting, processing, archiving and transmitting specific information, the maximum time limits for reporting, the data security and data protection rules and related quality control mechanisms. That implementing act shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 122(2).

1.   Each national coordination centre shall establish and maintain a national situational picture in order to provide all authorities having responsibility for external border control at national level with effective, accurate and timely information.

2.   The national situational picture shall be composed of information collected from the following sources:

3.   Each national coordination centre shall attribute a single indicative impact level, ranging from ‘low’ and ‘medium’ to ‘high’ and ‘very high’, to each incident in the events layer of the national situational picture. All incidents shall be shared with the Agency.

4.   Each national coordination centre may decide, at the request of the competent national authorities, to restrict access to information related to national security, including military assets, on a need-to-know basis.

5.   The national coordination centres of neighbouring Member States may share with each other, directly and in near real time, the situational picture of neighbouring external border sections, including the positions, status and type of own assets operating in the neighbouring external border sections.

1.   The Agency shall establish and maintain a European situational picture in order to provide the national coordination centres and the Commission with effective, accurate and timely information and analysis, covering the external borders, the pre-frontier area and unauthorised secondary movements.

2.   The European situational picture shall be composed of information collected from the following sources:

3.   The events layer of the European situational picture shall include information relating to:

4.   The operational layer of the European situational picture shall contain information on the joint operations and rapid interventions coordinated by the Agency and on hotspots, and shall include the mission statements, locations, status, duration, information on the Member States and other actors involved, daily and weekly situational reports, statistical data and information packages for the media.

5.   Information on own assets in the operational layer of the European situational picture may, where appropriate, be classified as RESTREINT UE/EU RESTRICTED.

6.   In the European situational picture, the Agency shall take into account the impact levels that were assigned to specific incidents in national situational pictures by the national coordination centres. For any incident in the pre-frontier area, the Agency shall assign a single indicative impact level and shall inform the national coordination centres thereof.

1.   The Agency and the Member States may establish and maintain specific situational pictures in order to support specific operational activities at the external borders or to share information with Union institutions, bodies, offices and agencies and international organisations listed in Article 68(1) or third countries as provided for in Article 75.

2.   The specific situational pictures shall be composed of a subset of information of the national and European situational pictures.

3.   The detailed rules for establishing and sharing the specific situational pictures shall be set out in an operational plan for the operational activities concerned and in a bilateral or multilateral agreement where a specific situational picture is established in the framework of bilateral or multilateral cooperation with third countries. Any sharing of information under this paragraph shall be carried out in accordance with the principle of originator's consent.

1.   The Agency shall coordinate the EUROSUR Fusion Services in order to supply the national coordination centres, the Commission and itself with information on the external borders and on the pre-frontier area on a regular, reliable and cost-efficient basis.

2.   The Agency shall provide a national coordination centre, at its request, with information on the external borders of the Member State to which it belongs and on the pre-frontier area which may be derived from:

3.   The Agency may refuse a request from a national coordination centre for technical, financial or operational reasons. The Agency shall notify the national coordination centre in due time of the reasons for such a refusal.

4.   The Agency may use, on its own initiative, the surveillance tools referred to in paragraph 2 for collecting information on the pre-frontier area, which is relevant for the European situational picture.

1.   The Agency shall monitor migratory flows towards the Union, and within the Union in terms of migratory trends, volume and routes, and other trends or possible challenges at the external borders and with regard to return. For that purpose, the Agency shall, by a decision of the management board based on a proposal from the executive director, establish a common integrated risk analysis model, which shall be applied by the Agency and the Member States. The common integrated risk analysis model shall be established and updated, where needed, on the basis of the outcome of the evaluation of the implementation of the multiannual strategic policy cycle for European integrated border management referred to in Article 8(7).

2.   The Agency shall prepare general annual risk analyses, which shall be submitted to the European Parliament, to the Council and to the Commission applying the security rules adopted in accordance with Article 92, and tailored risk analyses for operational activities. Every two years, the Agency, in close consultation with the Member States, shall prepare and submit to the European Parliament, to the Council and to the Commission a strategic risk analysis for European integrated border management. Such strategic risk analyses shall be taken into account for the preparation of the multiannual strategic policy cycle for European integrated border management. The Agency shall prepare such general annual risk analyses and strategic risk analyses on the basis of information received, including from the Member States. Personal data shall be anonymised in the results of such risk analyses.

3.   The risk analyses referred to in paragraph 2 shall cover all aspects relevant to European integrated border management with a view to developing a pre-warning mechanism.

4.   The Agency shall publish comprehensive information on the common integrated risk analysis model.

5.   Member States shall provide the Agency with all necessary information regarding the situation, trends and possible threats at the external borders and in the field of return. Member States shall regularly, or upon the request of the Agency, provide it with all relevant information such as statistical and operational data collected in relation to European integrated border management that is included in the list of mandatory information and data to be exchanged with the Agency as referred to in point (e) of Article 100(2), as well as information from the analysis layers of the national situational pictures as provided for in Article 25.

6.   The results of the risk analysis shall be submitted to the management board and shared with the competent authorities of the Member States in a timely and accurate manner.

7.   Member States shall take results of the risk analysis into account when planning their operations and activities at the external borders and their activities with regard to return.

8.   The Agency shall incorporate the results of a common integrated risk analysis model in its development of common core curricula for training as referred to in Article 62.

1.   The Agency shall ensure the regular monitoring of all Member States' management of the external borders and return through liaison officers of the Agency.

The Agency may decide that a liaison officer covers up to four Member States which are geographically close to each other.

2.   The executive director shall appoint experts from the statutory staff to be deployed as liaison officers. The executive director shall, on the basis of risk analysis and in consultation with the Member States concerned, make a proposal on the nature and terms of the deployment, the Member State or region to which a liaison officer may be deployed and possible tasks not covered by paragraph 3. The proposal from the executive director shall be subject to approval by the management board. The executive director shall notify the Member State concerned of the appointment and shall determine, together with that Member State, the location of deployment.

3.   The liaison officers shall act on behalf of the Agency, and their role shall be to foster cooperation and dialogue between the Agency and the national authorities responsible for border management, including coast guards to the extent that they carry out border control tasks, as well as the national authorities responsible for return. The liaison officers shall, in particular:

4.   If the reporting by the liaison officer referred to in point (i) of paragraph 3 raises concerns about one or more aspects relevant for the Member State concerned, the executive director shall inform that Member State without delay.

5.   For the purposes of paragraph 3, the liaison officer shall, in compliance with the national and Union security and data protection rules:

6.   The report of the liaison officer referred to in point (c) of paragraph 3 of this Article shall form part of the vulnerability assessment referred to in Article 32. The report shall be transmitted to the Member State concerned.

7.   In carrying out their duties, the liaison officers shall take instructions only from the Agency.

1.   The Agency shall establish a common vulnerability assessment methodology by decision of the management board, on the basis of a proposal from the executive director prepared in close cooperation with the Member States and the Commission. That methodology shall include objective criteria against which the Agency shall carry out the vulnerability assessment, the frequency of such assessments, how consecutive vulnerability assessments are to be carried out, and arrangements for an effective system for monitoring the implementation of recommendations of the executive director as referred to in paragraph 7.

2.   The Agency shall monitor and assess the availability of the technical equipment, systems, capabilities, resources, infrastructure and adequately skilled and trained staff of Member States necessary for border control as referred to in point (a) of Article 3(1). In that context, the Agency shall assess the national capability development plans referred to in Article 9(4) as regards the capacity to perform border control taking into account the fact that some national capabilities may be partially used for purposes other than border control. For future planning, the Agency shall carry out such monitoring and assessment as a preventive measure on the basis of the risk analyses prepared in accordance with Article 29(2). The Agency shall carry out such monitoring and assessment at least once a year, unless the executive director, on the basis of risk analysis or a previous vulnerability assessment, decides otherwise. In any event, each Member State shall be subject to monitoring and assessment at least once every three years.

3.   Without prejudice to Article 9, Member States shall, at the request of the Agency, provide information as regards technical equipment, staff and, to the extent possible, the financial resources available at national level to carry out border control. Member States shall also provide information on their contingency plans on border management at the Agency's request.

4.   The aim of the vulnerability assessment is for the Agency: to assess the capacity and readiness of Member States to face present and upcoming challenges at the external borders; to identify, especially for those Member States facing specific and disproportionate challenges, possible immediate consequences at the external borders and subsequent consequences on the functioning of the Schengen area; to assess their capacity to contribute to the standing corps and to the technical equipment pool, including the rapid reaction equipment pool; and to assess the hosting capacity of Member States with regard to support from the European Border and Coast Guard in line with Article 9(3). That assessment shall be without prejudice to the Schengen evaluation mechanism.

5.   In the vulnerability assessment, the Agency shall assess, in qualitative and quantitative terms, the Member States' capacity to carry out all border management tasks, including their capacity to deal with the potential arrival of large numbers of persons on their territory.

6.   The preliminary results of the vulnerability assessment shall be submitted to the Member States concerned. The Member States concerned may comment on that assessment.

7.   Where necessary, the executive director, in consultation with the Member State concerned, shall make a recommendation setting out the necessary measures to be taken by the Member State concerned and the time limit within which such measures are to be implemented. The executive director shall invite the Member States concerned to take the necessary measures on the basis of an action plan developed by the Member State in consultation with the executive director.

8.   The executive director shall base the measures to be recommended to the Member States concerned on the results of the vulnerability assessment, taking into account the Agency's risk analysis, the comments of the Member State concerned and the results of the Schengen evaluation mechanism.

The recommended measures shall be aimed at eliminating the vulnerabilities identified in the assessment in order for Member States to increase their readiness to face present and upcoming challenges at the external borders by enhancing or improving their capabilities, technical equipment, systems, resources and contingency plans. The executive director may offer the technical expertise of the Agency to the Member States to support the implementation of the recommended measures.

9.   The executive director shall monitor the implementation of the recommended measures by means of regular reports to be submitted by the Member States on the basis of the action plans referred to in paragraph 7.

Where there is a risk that a Member State will not implement a recommended measure within the time limit set in accordance with paragraph 7, the executive director shall immediately inform the member of the management board from the Member State concerned and the Commission. In consultation with the member of the management board from the Member State concerned, the executive director shall enquire of the relevant authorities of that Member State about the reasons for the delay and offer support by the Agency to facilitate the implementation of the measure recommended.

10.   Where a Member State does not implement the necessary measures of the recommendation within the time limit set in accordance with paragraph 7 of this Article, the executive director shall refer the matter to the management board and notify the Commission. The management board shall adopt a decision on the basis of a proposal from the executive director, setting out the necessary measures to be taken by the Member State concerned and the time limit within which such measures are to be implemented. The decision of the management board shall be binding on the Member State. If the Member State does not implement the measures within the time limit provided for in that decision, the management board shall notify the Council and the Commission and further action may be taken in accordance with Article 42.

11.   The vulnerability assessment, including a detailed description of the outcome of the vulnerability assessment, the measures taken by the Member States in response to the vulnerability assessment and the status of the implementation of any measures previously recommended, shall be transmitted, in accordance with Article 92, on a regular basis and at least once a year to the European Parliament, to the Council and to the Commission.

1.   The synergies between the vulnerability assessment and the Schengen evaluation mechanism shall be maximised in order to establish an improved situational picture on the functioning of the Schengen area, avoiding, to the extent possible, the duplication of efforts on the Member States' side, and ensuring a better coordinated use of the relevant Union financial instruments supporting the management of the external borders.

2.   For the purpose referred to in paragraph 1, the Commission and the Agency shall establish the necessary arrangements to share with each other in a regular, secured and timely manner all information related to the results of vulnerability assessments and the results of the evaluations carried out within the framework of the Schengen evaluation mechanism in the area of border management. Those information-sharing arrangements shall cover the reports of vulnerability assessments and reports of Schengen evaluation visits, subsequent recommendations, action plans and any updates on the implementation of the action plans provided by the Member States.

3.   For the purposes of the Schengen evaluation mechanism as it relates to external border management, the Commission shall share the results of the vulnerability assessments with all the members of the Schengen evaluation teams involved in the evaluation of the Member State concerned. Such information shall be considered sensitive within the meaning of Regulation (EU) No 1053/2013 and shall be treated accordingly.

4.   The arrangements referred to in paragraph 2 shall cover results of the evaluations carried out within the framework of the Schengen evaluation mechanism in the area of return to ensure the full awareness of the Agency of the identified deficiencies in view of enabling it to propose appropriate measures to support Member States concerned in that regard.

1.   On the basis of the Agency's risk analysis and vulnerability assessment and in agreement with the Member State concerned, the Agency shall attribute the following impact levels to each external border section or change such levels:

2.   In order to swiftly address a crisis situation at a particular external border section, where the Agency's risk analysis shows that incidents related to illegal immigration or cross-border crime occurring at the relevant external border section have a decisive impact on border security to such an extent that they risk jeopardising the functioning of the Schengen area, the Agency shall, in agreement with the Member State concerned, temporarily attribute a ‘critical’ impact level to that external border section.

3.   Where there is no agreement between the Member State concerned and the Agency on the attribution of an impact level to an external border section, the impact level that was previously attributed to that border section shall remain unchanged.

4.   The national coordination centre shall constantly assess in close cooperation with other competent national authorities whether there is a need to change the impact level of any of the external border sections by taking into account the information contained in the national situational picture and inform the Agency accordingly.

5.   The Agency shall indicate the impact levels attributed to the external border sections in the European situational picture.

1.   The Member States shall ensure that border control at the external border sections corresponds to the attributed impact levels in the following manner:

2.   The national coordination centres shall regularly inform the Agency of the measures taken at national level pursuant to points (c) and (d) of paragraph 1.

3.   Where a medium, high or critical impact level is attributed to an external border section which is adjacent to the border section of another Member State or of a third country with which agreements, arrangements or regional networks, as referred to in Articles 72 and 73, are in place, the national coordination centre shall contact the national coordination centre of the neighbouring Member State or the competent authority of the neighbouring third country and shall endeavour to coordinate together with the Agency the necessary cross-border measures.

4.   The Agency shall, together with the Member State concerned, evaluate the attribution of impact levels and the corresponding measures taken at national and Union level. That evaluation shall contribute to the vulnerability assessment to be carried out by the Agency in accordance with Article 32.

1.   A Member State may request the Agency's assistance in implementing its obligations with regard to external border control. The Agency shall also carry out measures in accordance with Articles 41 and 42.

2.   The Agency shall organise the appropriate technical and operational assistance for the host Member State and it may, acting in accordance with the relevant Union and international law, including the principle of non-refoulement, take one or more of the following measures:

3.   The Agency shall finance or co-finance the activities referred to in paragraph 2 from its budget in accordance with the financial rules applicable to the Agency.

4.   If the Agency has substantial additional financial needs due to a situation at the external borders, it shall inform the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission thereof without delay.

1.   A Member State may request that the Agency launch joint operations to face upcoming challenges, including illegal immigration, present or future threats at its external borders or cross-border crime, or provide increased technical and operational assistance when implementing its obligations with regard to external border control. As part of such a request, a Member State may also indicate the profiles of operational staff needed for the joint operation in question, including those staff having executive powers, as applicable.

2.   At the request of a Member State faced with a situation of specific and disproportionate challenges, especially the arrival at points of the external borders of large numbers of third-country nationals trying to enter the territory of that Member State without authorisation, the Agency may deploy a rapid border intervention for a limited period of time on the territory of that host Member State.

3.   The executive director shall evaluate, approve and coordinate proposals made by Member States for joint operations or rapid border interventions. Joint operations and rapid border interventions shall be preceded by a thorough reliable and up-to-date risk analysis, thereby enabling the Agency to set an order of priority for the proposed joint operations and rapid border interventions, taking into account the impact levels attributed to external border sections in accordance with Article 34 and the availability of resources.

4.   The objectives of a joint operation or rapid border intervention may be achieved as part of a multipurpose operation. Such operations may involve coast guard functions and the prevention of cross-border crime, focusing on the fight against migrant smuggling or trafficking in human beings, and migration management, focusing on identification, registration, debriefing and return.

1.   In preparation of a joint operation the executive director, in cooperation with the host Member State, shall draw up a list of technical equipment, staff and profiles of staff needed, including those staff having executive powers, as applicable, to be authorised in accordance with Article 82(2). That list shall be drawn up taking into account the host Member State's available resources and the host Member State's request under Article 37. On the basis of those elements, the Agency shall define a package of technical and operational reinforcement as well as capacity-building activities to be included in the operational plan.

2.   The executive director shall draw up an operational plan for joint operations at the external borders. The executive director and the host Member State, in close and timely consultation with the participating Member States, shall agree on the operational plan detailing the organisational and procedural aspects of the joint operation.

3.   The operational plan shall be binding on the Agency, the host Member State and the participating Member States. It shall cover all aspects considered necessary for carrying out the joint operation, including the following:

4.   Any amendments to or adaptations of the operational plan shall require the agreement of the executive director and the host Member State, after consultation of the participating Member States. A copy of the amended or adapted operational plan shall immediately be sent by the Agency to the participating Member States.

5.   This Article shall apply mutatis mutandis to all operations of the Agency.

1.   A request by a Member State to launch a rapid border intervention shall include a description of the situation, possible aims and envisaged needs, and the profiles of staff needed, including those staff having executive powers, as applicable. If required, the executive director may immediately send experts from the Agency to assess the situation at the external borders of the Member State concerned.

2.   The executive director shall immediately inform the management board of a Member State's request to launch a rapid border intervention.

3.   When deciding on the request of a Member State, the executive director shall take into account the findings of the Agency's risk analyses and the analysis layer of the European situational picture as well as the outcome of the vulnerability assessment referred to in Article 32 and any other relevant information provided by the Member State concerned or another Member State.

4.   The executive director shall immediately assess the possibilities for redeployment of available members of the teams within the standing corps, in particular statutory staff and staff seconded to the Agency by the Member States, present in other operational areas. The executive director shall also assess the additional need to deploy operational staff in accordance with Article 57 and, once staff within the required profiles have been exhausted, to activate the reserve for rapid reaction in accordance with Article 58.

5.   The executive director shall take a decision on the request to launch a rapid border intervention within two working days from the date of receipt of the request. The executive director shall simultaneously notify the Member State concerned and the management board in writing of the decision. The decision shall state the main reasons on which it is based.

6.   When taking the decision referred to in paragraph 5 of this Article, the executive director shall inform the Member States about the possibility of requesting additional operational staff in accordance with Article 57 and, where applicable, Article 58 by indicating possible numbers and profiles of staff to be provided by each Member State.

7.   If the executive director decides to launch a rapid border intervention, he or she shall deploy available border management teams from the standing corps and equipment from the technical equipment pool in accordance with Article 64, and where necessary, he or she shall decide on the immediate reinforcement by one or more border management teams, in accordance with Article 57.

8.   The executive director together with the host Member State shall draw up and agree upon an operational plan as referred to in Article 38(2) immediately and, in any event, no later than three working days from the date of the decision.

9.   As soon as the operational plan has been agreed upon and provided to the Member States, the executive director shall immediately deploy the operational staff available through redeployments from other operational areas or other duties.

10.   In parallel to the deployment referred to in paragraph 9, and where necessary to secure the immediate reinforcement of the border management teams redeployed from other areas or duties, the executive director shall request from each Member State the number and profiles of additional staff to be additionally deployed from their national lists for short-term deployments as referred to in Article 57.

11.   If a situation arises where the border management teams referred to in paragraph 7 and the staff referred to in paragraph 10 of this Article are insufficient, the executive director may activate the reserve for rapid reaction by requesting from each Member State the number and profiles of additional staff to be deployed as provided for in Article 58.

12.   The information referred to paragraphs 10 and 11 shall be provided in writing to the national contact points and shall indicate the date on which the deployments of staff from each category are to take place. A copy of the operational plan shall also be provided to the national contact points.

13.   Member States shall ensure that the number and profiles of staff are immediately made available to the Agency to guarantee a complete deployment in accordance with Article 57 and, if applicable, Article 58.

14.   The deployment of the first border management teams redeployed from other areas and other duties shall take place no later than five working days after the date on which the operational plan is agreed between the executive director and the host Member State. Additional deployment of border management teams shall take place, where necessary, no later than 12 working days after the date on which the operational plan is agreed.

15.   Where the rapid border intervention is to take place, the executive director shall, in consultation with the management board, immediately consider the priorities with regard to the Agency's ongoing and planned joint operations at other external borders in order to provide for possible reallocation of resources to the areas of the external borders where a strengthened deployment is most needed.

1.   Where a Member State faces disproportionate migratory challenges at particular hotspot areas of its external borders characterised by large inward mixed migratory flows, that Member State may request technical and operational reinforcement by migration management support teams composed of experts from relevant Union bodies, offices and agencies that shall operate in accordance with their mandates.

That Member State shall submit a request for reinforcement and an assessment of its needs to the Commission. On the basis of that assessment of needs, the Commission shall transmit the request, as appropriate, to the Agency, to EASO, to Europol and to other relevant Union bodies, offices and agencies.

2.   The relevant Union bodies, offices and agencies shall examine, in accordance with their respective mandates, the Member State's request for reinforcement and the assessment of its needs for the purpose of defining a comprehensive reinforcement package consisting of various activities coordinated by the relevant Union bodies, offices and agencies, to be agreed upon by the Member State concerned. The Commission shall coordinate that process.

3.   The Commission, in cooperation with the host Member State and the relevant Union bodies, offices and agencies in accordance with their respective mandates, shall establish the terms of cooperation at the hotspot area and shall be responsible for the coordination of the activities of the migration management support teams.

4.   The technical and operational reinforcement provided, with full respect for fundamental rights, by the standing corps in the framework of migration management support teams may include the provision of:

5.   Migration management support teams shall include, where necessary, staff with expertise in child protection, trafficking in human beings, protection against gender-based persecution or fundamental rights.

1.   On the basis of the results of the vulnerability assessment or where a critical impact level is attributed to one or more external border sections and taking into account the relevant elements in the Member State's contingency plans, the Agency's risk analysis and the analysis layer of the European situational picture, the executive director shall recommend to the Member State concerned to request that the Agency initiate, carry out or adjust joint operations, rapid border interventions or any other relevant actions by the Agency as set out in Article 36.

2.   The Member State concerned shall respond to the recommendation of the executive director referred to in paragraph 1 within six working days. In the event of a negative response to the recommendation, the Member State shall also provide the justifications underlying that response. The executive director shall notify the management board and the Commission without delay about the recommended actions and the justifications for the negative response, with a view to assessing whether urgent action may be required in accordance with Article 42.

1.   Where external border control is rendered ineffective to such an extent that it risks jeopardising the functioning of the Schengen area because:

the Council, on the basis of a proposal from the Commission, may adopt without delay a decision by means of an implementing act to identify measures to mitigate those risks to be implemented by the Agency and requiring the Member State concerned to cooperate with the Agency in the implementation of those measures. The Commission shall consult the Agency before making its proposal.

2.   Where a situation requiring urgent action arises, the European Parliament shall be informed of that situation without delay as well as of any subsequent measures and decisions taken in response.

3.   To mitigate the risk of putting the Schengen area in jeopardy, the Council decision referred to in paragraph 1 shall provide for one or more of the following measures to be taken by the Agency:

4.   The executive director shall, within two working days from the date of adoption of the Council decision referred to in paragraph 1:

5.   The executive director and the Member State concerned shall agree on the operational plan referred to in point (b) of paragraph 4 within three working days from the date of its submission.

6.   The Agency shall, without delay, and in any case within five working days from the establishment of the operational plan, deploy the necessary operational staff from the standing corps for the practical execution of the measures identified in the Council decision referred to in paragraph 1. Additional teams shall be deployed as necessary at a second stage, and in any case within 12 working days from the establishment of the operational plan.

7.   The Agency and the Member States shall, without delay, and in any case within 10 working days from the establishment of the operational plan, send the necessary technical equipment and competent staff to the destination of deployment for the practical execution of the measures identified in the Council decision referred to in paragraph 1.

Additional technical equipment shall be deployed as necessary at a second stage in accordance with Article 64.

8.   The Member State concerned shall comply with the Council decision referred to in paragraph 1. For that purpose, it shall immediately cooperate with the Agency and take the necessary action to facilitate the implementation of that decision and the practical execution of the measures set out in that decision and in the operational plan agreed upon with the executive director, in particular by implementing the obligations provided for in Articles 43, 82 and 83.

9.   In accordance with Article 57 and, where relevant, Article 39, the Member States shall make available the operational staff determined by the executive director in accordance with paragraph 4 of this Article.

10.   The Commission shall monitor the implementation of the measures identified in the Council decision referred to in paragraph 1 and the actions that the Agency takes for that purpose. If the Member State concerned does not comply with the Council decision referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article within 30 days and does not cooperate with the Agency in accordance with to paragraph 8 of this Article, the Commission may trigger the procedure provided for in Article 29 of Regulation (EU) 2016/399.

1.   During the deployment of border management teams, return teams and migration management support teams, the host Member State or, in the case of cooperation with a third country in accordance with a status agreement, the third country concerned, shall issue instructions to the teams in accordance with the operational plan.

2.   The Agency, through its coordinating officer, may communicate its views to the host Member State on the instructions given to the teams. In that case, the host Member State shall take those views into consideration and follow them to the extent possible.

3.   In cases where the instructions issued to the teams are not in compliance with the operational plan, the coordinating officer shall immediately report to the executive director, who may, if appropriate, take action in accordance with Article 46(3).

4.   Members of the teams shall, in the performance of their tasks and in the exercise of their powers, fully respect fundamental rights, including access to asylum procedures and human dignity, and shall pay particular attention to vulnerable persons. Any measures taken in the performance of their tasks and in the exercise of their powers shall be proportionate to the objectives pursued by such measures. While performing their tasks and exercising their powers, they shall not discriminate against persons on the basis of any grounds such as sex, race, colour, ethnic or social origin, genetic features, language, religion or belief, political or any other opinion, membership of a national minority, property, birth, disability, age or sexual orientation in line with Article 21 of the Charter.

5.   Members of the teams who are not statutory staff shall remain subject to the disciplinary measures of their home Member State. The home Member State shall provide for appropriate disciplinary or other measures in accordance with its national law regarding violations of fundamental rights or international protection obligations in the course of any operational activity by the Agency.

6.   Statutory staff deployed as members of the teams shall be subject to disciplinary measures as provided for in the Staff Regulations and the Conditions of Employment and measures of a disciplinary nature provided for in the supervisory mechanism referred to in point (a) of Article 55(5).

1.   The Agency shall ensure the operational implementation of all the organisational aspects of joint operations, pilot projects or rapid border interventions, including the presence of statutory staff.

2.   Without prejudice to Article 60, the executive director shall appoint one or more experts from the statutory staff to be deployed as a coordinating officer for each joint operation or rapid border intervention. The executive director shall notify the host Member State of the appointment.

3.   The coordinating officer shall act on behalf of the Agency in all aspects of the deployment of the teams. The role of the coordinating officer shall be to foster cooperation and coordination among host and participating Member States. At least one fundamental rights monitor shall assist and advise the coordinating officer. In particular, the coordinating officer shall:

4.   In the context of joint operations or rapid border interventions, the executive director may authorise the coordinating officer to assist in resolving any disagreement on the execution of the operational plan and deployment of the teams.

1.   The Agency shall fully cover the following costs incurred by Member States in making available their staff for the purposes of deploying them from the standing corps as members of the teams to the Member States and to third countries for a short term in accordance with Article 57 or to the Member States through the reserve for rapid reaction in accordance with Article 58:

2.   On the basis of a proposal of the executive director, the management board shall adopt detailed rules as regards the reimbursement of the costs incurred by staff deployed for a short term in accordance with Articles 57 and 58, and shall update them as necessary. To ensure compliance with the applicable legal framework, the executive director shall make such proposal after receiving the positive opinion of the Commission. The detailed rules shall be based to the extent possible on simplified cost options in accordance with points (c), (d) and (e) of Article 125(1) of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046. Where relevant, the management board shall ensure consistency with the rules applicable to mission expenses of statutory staff.

1.   The executive director shall terminate any activity of the Agency if the conditions to conduct those activities are no longer fulfilled. The executive director shall inform the Member State concerned prior to such termination.

2.   The Member States participating in an operational activity by the Agency may request that the executive director terminate that operational activity. The executive director shall inform the management board of such request.

3.   The executive director may, after informing the Member State concerned, withdraw the financing of an activity or suspend or terminate it if the operational plan is not respected by the host Member State.

4.   The executive director shall, after consulting the fundamental rights officer and informing the Member State concerned, withdraw the financing for any activity by the Agency, or suspend or terminate any activity by the Agency, in whole or in part, if he or she considers that there are violations of fundamental rights or international protection obligations related to the activity concerned that are of a serious nature or are likely to persist.

5.   The executive director shall, after consulting the fundamental rights officer, decide not to launch any activity by the Agency where he or she considers that there would already be serious reasons at the beginning of the activity to suspend or terminate it because it could lead to violations of fundamental rights or international protection obligations of a serious nature. The executive director shall inform the Member State concerned of that decision.

6.   The decisions referred to in paragraphs 4 and 5 shall be based on duly justified grounds. When taking such decisions, the executive director shall take into account relevant information such as the number and substance of registered complaints that have not been resolved by a national competent authority, reports of serious incidents, reports from coordinating officers, relevant international organisations and Union institutions, bodies, offices and agencies in the areas covered by this Regulation. The executive director shall inform the management board of such decisions and provide it with justifications therefor.

7.   If the executive director decides to suspend or terminate deployment by the Agency of a migration management support team, he or she shall inform the other relevant bodies, offices and agencies active in the hotspot area of that decision.

1.   Without entering into the merits of return decisions, which remain the sole responsibility of the Member States, and in accordance with the respect for fundamental rights, general principles of Union law and international law, including international protection, the respect for the principle of non-refoulement and children's rights, with regard to return, the Agency shall:

2.   The technical and operational assistance referred to in point (b) of paragraph 1 shall include activities to help Member States carry out return procedures by the competent national authorities by providing, in particular:

3.   The Agency shall aim at building synergies and connecting Union-funded networks and programmes in the field of return in close cooperation with the Commission and with the support of relevant stakeholders, including the European Migration Network.

1.   The Agency shall operate and further develop, in accordance with point (d) of Article 48(1), an integrated return management platform for processing information, including personal data transmitted by the Member States' return management systems, that is necessary for the Agency to provide technical and operational assistance. Personal data shall only include biographic data or passenger lists. Personal data shall be transmitted only where they are necessary for the Agency to assist in the coordination or organisation of return operations to third countries, irrespective of the means of transport. Such personal data shall be transmitted to the platform only once a decision to launch a return operation has been taken, and shall be erased as soon as the operation is terminated.

Biographic data shall only be transmitted to the platform where they cannot be accessed by members of teams in accordance with Article 17(3) of Regulation (EU) 2018/1860 of the European Parliament and of the Council (39).

The Agency may also use the platform for the purpose of securely transmitting biographic or biometric data, including all types of documents which can be considered as proof or prima facie evidence of the nationality of third-country nationals subject to return decisions, where the transmission of such personal data is necessary for the Agency to provide assistance, at the request of a Member State, in confirming the identity and nationality of third-country nationals in individual cases. Such data shall not be stored on the platform and shall be erased immediately following a confirmation of receipt.

2.   The Agency shall develop, deploy and operate information systems and software applications allowing for the exchange of information for the purpose of return within the European Border and Coast Guard and for the purpose of exchanging personal data.

3.   Personal data shall be processed in accordance with Articles 86, 87, 88 and 91, as applicable.

1.   Without entering into the merits of return decisions, which remain the sole responsibility of the Member States, the Agency shall provide Member States with technical and operational assistance and shall ensure the coordination or the organisation of return operations, including through the chartering of aircraft for the purpose of such operations and organising returns on scheduled flights or by other means of transport. The Agency may, on its own initiative and with the agreement of the Member State concerned, coordinate or organise return operations.

2.   Member States shall provide operational data on returns necessary for the assessment of return needs by the Agency through the platform referred to in Article 49(1) and shall inform the Agency of their indicative planning as regards the number of returnees and the third countries of return, both with respect to relevant national return operations, and of their needs for assistance or coordination by the Agency. The Agency shall draw up and maintain a rolling operational plan to provide the requesting Member States with the necessary operational assistance and reinforcements, including through technical equipment. The Agency may, either on its own initiative and with the agreement of the Member State concerned or at the request of a Member State, include in the rolling operational plan the dates and destinations of return operations it considers necessary, based on a needs assessment. The management board shall decide, on the basis of a proposal from the executive director, on the modus operandi of the rolling operational plan. The Member State concerned shall confirm to the Agency that all returnees covered by a return operation organised or coordinated by the Agency are the subject of an enforceable return decision.

Where members of the teams are deployed, they shall consult the Schengen Information System prior to the return of any returnee in order to check whether the return decision issued in relation to that returnee has been suspended or whether its enforcement has been postponed.

The rolling operational plan shall contain the elements necessary for carrying out a return operation, including those concerning the respect for fundamental rights, and shall refer to, inter alia, relevant codes of conduct and procedures for monitoring, reporting and the complaints mechanism.

3.   The Agency may provide technical and operational assistance to the Member States and may also, either on its own initiative and with the agreement of the Member State concerned or at the request of the participating Member States, ensure the coordination or the organisation of return operations for which the means of transport and return escorts are provided by a third country of return (‘collecting return operations’). The participating Member States and the Agency shall ensure that the respect for fundamental rights, the principle of non-refoulement, the proportionate use of means of constraints and the dignity of the returnee are guaranteed during the entire return operation. At least one Member State representative, and one forced-return monitor from the pool established under Article 51 or from the monitoring system of the participating Member State, shall be present throughout the entire return operation until arrival at the third country of return.

4.   The executive director shall draw up a return plan for collecting return operations without delay. The executive director and any participating Member State shall agree on the plan detailing the organisational and procedural aspects of the collecting return operation, taking account of the implications for the fundamental rights and risks of such operations. Any amendment to or adaptation of that plan shall require the agreement of the parties referred to in paragraph 3 and in this paragraph.

The return plan for collecting return operations shall be binding on the Agency and any participating Member State. It shall cover all the necessary steps for carrying out collecting return operations.

5.   Every return operation organised or coordinated by the Agency shall be monitored in accordance with Article 8(6) of Directive 2008/115/EC. The monitoring of forced-return operations shall be carried out by the forced-return monitor on the basis of objective and transparent criteria and shall cover the whole return operation from the pre-departure phase until the handover of the returnees in the third country of return. The forced-return monitor shall submit a report on each forced-return operation to the executive director, the fundamental rights officer and to the competent national authorities of all the Member States involved in the given operation. If necessary, appropriate follow-up shall be ensured by the executive director and competent national authorities respectively.

6.   If the Agency has concerns regarding the respect of fundamental rights at any stage of a return operation, it shall communicate them to the participating Member States and to the Commission.

7.   The executive director shall evaluate the results of the return operations and shall transmit every six months a detailed evaluation report to the European Parliament, to the Council, to the Commission and to the management board covering all return operations conducted in the previous semester, together with the observations of the fundamental rights officer. The executive director shall make a comprehensive comparative analysis of those results with a view to enhancing the quality, coherence and effectiveness of future return operations. The executive director shall include that analysis in the Agency's annual activity report.

8.   The Agency shall finance or co-finance return operations from its budget, in accordance with the financial rules applicable to the Agency, giving priority to those conducted by more than one Member State, or from hotspot areas.

1.   The Agency shall, after taking due account of the opinion of the fundamental rights officer, constitute a pool of forced-return monitors from competent bodies of the Member States who carry out forced-return monitoring activities in accordance with Article 8(6) of Directive 2008/115/EC and who have been trained in accordance with Article 62 of this Regulation.

2.   The management board shall, on the basis of a proposal from the executive director, determine the profile and the number of forced-return monitors to be made available to that pool. The same procedure shall apply with regard to any subsequent changes in the profile and overall numbers.

Member States shall be responsible for contributing to the pool by nominating forced-return monitors corresponding to the defined profile, without prejudice to the independence of those monitors under national law, where national law so provides. The Agency shall also contribute fundamental rights monitors as referred to in Article 110 to the pool. Forced-return monitors with specific expertise in child protection shall be included in the pool.

3.   Member States' contribution of forced-return monitors to return operations and interventions for the following year shall be planned on the basis of annual bilateral negotiations and agreements between the Agency and Member States. In accordance with those agreements, Member States shall make the forced-return monitors available for deployment at the request of the Agency, unless they are faced with an exceptional situation substantially affecting the discharge of national tasks. Such a request shall be made at least 21 working days before the intended deployment, or five working days in the case of a rapid return intervention.

4.   The Agency shall make the forced-return monitors available upon request to participating Member States to monitor, on their behalf, the correct implementation of the return operations and return interventions throughout their duration. It shall make available forced-return monitors with specific expertise in child protection for any return operation involving children.

5.   Forced-return monitors shall remain subject to the disciplinary measures of their home Member State in the course of a return operation or return intervention. Statutory staff deployed as forced-return monitors shall be subject to the disciplinary measures provided for in the Staff Regulations and the Conditions of Employment.

1.   The Agency may deploy return teams either on its own initiative and with the agreement of the Member State concerned or at the request of that Member State. The Agency may deploy such return teams during return interventions, in the framework of migration management support teams or as necessary to provide additional technical and operational assistance in the area of return. Where necessary, return teams shall contain officers with specific expertise in child protection.

2.   Article 40(2) to (5) and Articles 43, 44 and 45 shall apply mutatis mutandis to the return teams.

1.   Where a Member State is facing a burden when implementing the obligation to return returnees, the Agency shall provide the appropriate technical and operational assistance in the form of a return intervention, either on its own initiative and with the agreement of the Member State concerned or at the request of that Member State. Such intervention may consist in the deployment of return teams to the host Member State providing assistance in the implementation of return procedures and the organisation of return operations from the host Member State.

Article 50 shall apply also to return operations organised or coordinated by the Agency in the framework of return interventions.

2.   Where a Member State is facing specific and disproportionate challenges when implementing its obligation to return returnees, the Agency shall provide the appropriate technical and operational assistance in the form of a rapid return intervention, either on its own initiative and with the agreement of the Member State concerned or at the request of that Member State. A rapid return intervention may consist in the rapid deployment of return teams to the host Member State providing assistance in the implementation of return procedures and the organisation of return operations from the host Member State.

3.   In the context of a return intervention, the executive director shall draw up an operational plan without delay, in agreement with the host Member State and the participating Member States. The provisions of Article 38 shall apply mutatis mutandis.

4.   The executive director shall take a decision on the operational plan as soon as possible and, in the case referred to in paragraph 2, within five working days. The decision shall be immediately notified, in writing, to the Member States concerned and to the management board.

5.   The Agency shall finance or co-finance return interventions from its budget in accordance with the financial rules applicable to the Agency.

1.   A European Border and Coast Guard standing corps with the capacity set out in Annex I shall be part of the Agency. The standing corps shall be composed of the following four categories of operational staff in accordance with the annual availability scheme set out in Annex I:

2.   The Agency shall deploy members of the standing corps as members of the border management teams, migration management support teams and return teams in joint operations, rapid border interventions, return interventions or any other relevant operational activities in the Member States or in third countries. Such activities shall only be carried out with the authorisation of the Member State or the third country concerned. The actual number of staff deployed from the standing corps shall depend on the operational needs.

Deployment of the standing corps shall be complementary to the efforts undertaken by the Member States.

3.   When providing support to the Member States, the members of the standing corps deployed as members of the teams shall have the ability to carry out border control or return tasks, including tasks requiring executive powers provided for in the relevant national law or, in the case of statutory staff, the tasks requiring executive powers set out in Article 55(7).

The members of the standing corps shall meet the requirements for specialised training and professionalism as provided for in the third subparagraph of Article 16(1) of Regulation (EU) 2016/399 or other relevant instruments.

4.   On the basis of a proposal from the executive director taking into account the Agency's risk analysis, the results of the vulnerability assessment and the multiannual strategic policy cycle for European integrated border management, and building on the numbers and profiles of staff available to the Agency through its statutory staff and ongoing secondments, by 31 March of each year the management board shall adopt a decision:

5.   The crew for technical equipment provided in accordance with Article 64 shall be taken into account as part of the contributions for short-term deployments provided by the Member States pursuant to Article 57 for the following year. With a view to preparing the relevant management board decision referred to in paragraph 4 of this Article, the Member State concerned shall inform the Agency about its intention to deploy the technical equipment with the corresponding crew by the end of January of each year.

6.   For the purpose of Article 73, the Agency shall develop and ensure the command and control structures for the effective deployment of the standing corps on the territory of third countries.

7.   The Agency may recruit a sufficient number of statutory staff, which may account for up to 4 % of the total number of the standing corps set out in Annex I, for supportive or monitoring functions for the establishment of the standing corps, for the planning and management of its operations and for the acquisition of the Agency's own equipment.

8.   The staff referred to in paragraph 7 and the staff responsible for the functioning of the ETIAS Central Unit shall not be deployed as members of the teams, but shall nevertheless be counted as category 1 staff for the purposes of Annex I.

1.   The Agency shall contribute members of its statutory staff (category 1) to the standing corps to be deployed in operational areas as members of the teams with the tasks and powers provided for in Article 82, including the task of operating the Agency's own equipment.

2.   When recruiting staff, the Agency shall ensure that only candidates who demonstrate a high level of professionalism, adhere to high ethical values and possess appropriate language skills are selected.

3.   In accordance with Article 62(2), following their recruitment, the statutory staff to be deployed as members of the teams shall undergo necessary border-guard or return-related training, including on fundamental rights, as relevant to the profiles of staff decided by the management board in accordance with Article 54(4), taking into account their previously acquired qualifications and professional experience in the relevant areas.

The training referred to in the first subparagraph shall be conducted in the framework of dedicated training programmes designed by the Agency, and, on the basis of agreements with selected Member States, implemented in their specialised institutions for training and education, including the Agency's partnership academies in Member States. Adequate training maps shall be designed for each staff member after his or her recruitment to ensure that he or she is always professionally qualified to fulfil border guard or return-related tasks. Training maps shall be regularly updated. The Agency shall cover the full cost of training.

Statutory staff who act as technical crew operating the Agency's own equipment shall not need to undergo full border guard or return-related training.

4.   Throughout their employment, the Agency shall ensure that its statutory staff discharge their duties as members of the teams in accordance with the highest standards and in full compliance with fundamental rights.

5.   On the basis of a proposal from the executive director, the management board shall:

In relation to the rules referred to in point (a) of the first subparagraph of this paragraph, the Commission shall give an opinion on their compliance with the Staff Regulations and Conditions of Employment, in accordance with Article 110(2) of the Staff Regulations. The fundamental rights officer shall be consulted on the proposal from the executive director with regard to those rules.

6.   Agency staff who are not qualified to perform border guard or return-related tasks shall only be deployed during joint operations for coordination, monitoring of fundamental rights and other related tasks. They shall not form part of the teams.

7.   The statutory staff to be deployed as members of the teams shall be able to perform, in accordance with Article 82, the following tasks requiring executive powers, in accordance with the profiles of staff and relevant training:

1.   The Member States shall contribute to the standing corps by seconding operational staff to the Agency as members of the teams (category 2). The duration of individual secondments shall be 24 months. With the agreement of the home Member State and the Agency, individual secondments may be prolonged once for another 12 or 24 months. In order to facilitate the implementation of the financial support system referred to in Article 61, secondments shall, as a general rule, start at the beginning of a calendar year.

2.   Each Member State shall be responsible for ensuring the continuous contribution of operational staff as seconded members of the teams in accordance with Annex II. The payment of costs incurred by staff deployed under this Article shall be made in accordance with the rules adopted pursuant to Article 95(6).

3.   The operational staff seconded to the Agency shall have the tasks and powers of the members of the teams in accordance with Article 82. The Member State that has seconded those operational staff shall be considered to be their home Member State. During the secondment, the locations and duration of the deployments of seconded members of the teams shall be decided by the executive director in accordance with the operational needs. The Agency shall ensure the continuous training of the operational staff during their secondment.

4.   By 30 June of each year, each Member State shall indicate the candidates for secondment among their operational staff in accordance with the specific numbers and profiles of staff decided by the management board for the following year as referred to in Article 54(4). The Agency shall verify whether the operational staff proposed by Member States correspond to the defined profiles of staff and possess the necessary language skills. By 15 September of each year, the Agency shall accept the proposed candidates or, in cases of non-compliance with the required profiles, insufficient language skills, misconduct or infringement of the applicable rules during previous deployments, shall refuse the candidates in question and request that the Member State propose other candidates for secondment.

5.   Where, due to force majeure, an individual operational staff member cannot be seconded or is unable to continue his or her secondment, the Member State concerned shall ensure that that staff member is replaced by another operational staff member having the required profile.

1.   In addition to the secondments under Article 56, by 30 June of each year, the Member States shall contribute to the standing corps by nominating border guards and other relevant staff to the preliminary national list of available operational staff for short-term deployments (category 3) in accordance with the contributions set out in Annex III and in accordance with the specific numbers and profiles of staff decided by the management board for the following year as referred to in Article 54(4). The preliminary national lists of nominated operational staff shall be communicated to the Agency. The final composition of the annual list shall be confirmed to the Agency after the conclusion of the annual bilateral negotiations by 1 December of that year.

2.   Each Member State shall ensure that nominated operational staff are available at the request of the Agency in accordance with the arrangements set out in this Article. Each staff member shall be available for a period of up to four months within a calendar year. However, Member States may decide to deploy an individual staff member beyond four months. Such an extension shall be counted as a separate contribution of that Member State for the same profile or another required profile if the staff member possesses the necessary skills. The payment of the costs incurred by staff deployed under this Article shall be made in accordance with the rules adopted pursuant to Article 45(2).

3.   The operational staff deployed under this Article shall have the tasks and powers of the members of the teams in accordance with Article 82.

4.   The Agency may verify whether the operational staff nominated for short-term deployments by Member States correspond to the defined profiles of staff and possess the necessary language skills. The Agency shall refuse nominated operational staff in cases of insufficient language skills, misconduct or infringement of the applicable rules during previous deployments. The Agency shall also refuse nominated operational staff in the event of non-compliance with the required profiles unless the operational staff member in question qualifies for another profile allocated to that Member State. In the event of the refusal of a staff member by the Agency, the Member State concerned shall ensure that that staff member is replaced by another operational staff member having the required profile.

5.   By 31 July of each year, the Agency shall request that Member States contribute specific individual operational staff members for deployment as part of joint operations for the following year within the required numbers and profiles. The periods of individual deployment shall be decided in the annual bilateral negotiations and agreements between the Agency and Member States.

6.   Following the annual bilateral negotiations, Member States shall make the operational staff from the national lists referred to in paragraph 1 available for specific deployments within the numbers and profiles specified in the request of the Agency.

7.   Where, due to force majeure, an individual operational staff member cannot be deployed in accordance with the agreements, the Member State concerned shall ensure that such staff member is replaced by another staff member from the list with the required profile.

8.   In the event of an increased need for the reinforcement of an ongoing joint operation, a need to launch a rapid border intervention or a new joint operation not specified in the relevant annual work programme or in the corresponding result of annual bilateral negotiations, the deployment shall be carried out within the limits set out in Annex III. The executive director shall inform the Member States without delay about the additional needs by indicating possible numbers and profiles of operational staff to be provided by each Member State. Once an amended operational plan or, where relevant, a new operational plan is agreed upon by the executive director and the host Member State, the formal request for the number and profiles of operational staff shall be made by the executive director. The members of the teams shall be deployed from each Member State within 20 working days from that formal request without prejudice to Article 39.

9.   Where the risk analysis or any available vulnerability assessment shows that a Member State is faced with a situation that would substantially affect the discharge of its national tasks, that Member State shall contribute operational staff in accordance with the requests referred to in paragraph 5 or 8 of this Article. However, those contributions shall not cumulatively exceed half of that Member State's contribution for the year in question as set out in Annex III. Where a Member State invokes such an exceptional situation, it shall provide comprehensive reasons and information on the situation to the Agency in writing, the content of which shall be included in the report referred to in Article 65.

10.   The duration of the deployment for a specific operation shall be determined by the home Member State but in any event shall not be less than 30 days, except where the operation of which the deployment is a part has a duration shorter than 30 days.

11.   The technical crew taken into account for the contributions of Member States in accordance with Article 54(5) shall only be deployed in accordance with the agreements arising from the annual bilateral negotiations for the corresponding items of technical equipment referred to Article 64(9).

By way of derogation from paragraph 1 of this Article, Member States shall include in their annual lists the technical crew referred to in the first subparagraph of this paragraph only after the conclusion of the annual bilateral negotiations. Member States may adjust the relevant annual lists in the event of any changes of the technical crew during the year in question. Member States shall notify those changes to the Agency.

The verification referred to in paragraph 4 of this Article shall not concern the competence to operate the technical equipment.

Crew members having exclusively technical duties shall only be indicated by function on national annual lists.

The duration of deployment of technical crews shall be determined in accordance with Article 64.

1.   The Member States shall contribute operational staff to the standing corps by means of a reserve for rapid reaction (category 4) to be activated for rapid border interventions in accordance with Article 37(2) and Article 39, provided that the operational staff in category 1, 2 and 3 have already been fully deployed for the rapid border intervention in question.

2.   Each Member State shall be responsible for ensuring that operational staff are available in the numbers and with the corresponding profiles decided by the management board for the following year as referred to in Article 54(4), at the request of the Agency within the limits set out in Annex IV and in accordance with the arrangements set out in this Article. Each operational staff member shall be available for a period of up to four months within a calendar year.

3.   The specific deployments in the framework of rapid border interventions from the reserve for rapid reaction shall take place in accordance with Article 39(11) and (13).

1.   By 31 December 2023, in particular on the basis of the reports referred to in Article 62(10) and Article 65, the Commission shall present to the European Parliament and to the Council a review of the overall number and composition of the standing corps, including the size of individual Member States' contributions to the standing corps, as well as of the expertise and professionalism of the standing corps and of the training it receives. The review shall also examine whether it is necessary to maintain the reserve for rapid reaction as part of the standing corps.

The review shall describe and take into account existing and potential operational needs for the standing corps covering rapid reaction capacities, significant circumstances affecting the capability of Member States to contribute to the standing corps and the evolution of the statutory staff as regards the contribution of the Agency to the standing corps.

2.   By 29 February 2024, the Commission shall, where necessary, submit appropriate proposals to amend Annexes I, II, III and IV. Where the Commission does not submit a proposal, it shall explain the reasons therefor.

1.   Subject to an agreement with the host Member State or the explicit inclusion of this possibility in the status agreement concluded with the host third country, the Agency may establish antenna offices on the territory of that Member State or third country in order to facilitate and improve coordination of operational activities, including in the field of return, organised by the Agency in that Member State, in the neighbouring region, or in that third country and in order to ensure the effective management of the human and technical resources of the Agency. The antenna offices shall be established in accordance with operational needs for the period of time necessary for the Agency to carry out significant operational activities in that specific Member State, in the neighbouring region, or in the third country concerned. That period of time may be prolonged, if necessary.

Before an antenna office is established, all budgetary consequences shall be carefully assessed and calculated and the relevant amounts shall be budgeted in advance.

2.   The Agency and the host Member State or host third country in which the antenna office is established shall make the necessary arrangements to provide the best possible conditions needed to fulfil the tasks assigned to the antenna office. The place of employment for the staff working in antenna offices shall be set in accordance with Article 95(2).

3.   The antenna offices shall, where applicable:

4.   Each antenna office shall be managed by a representative of the Agency appointed by the executive director as a head of an antenna office. The head of the antenna office shall oversee the overall work of the office and shall act as its single point of contact with the Agency's headquarters.

5.   On the basis of a proposal from the executive director, the management board shall decide on the establishing, composition, duration and, where needed, possible prolongation of the duration of the operation of an antenna office taking into account the opinion of the Commission and the agreement of the host Member State or the host third country.

6.   The host Member State shall provide the Agency with assistance to ensure operational capacity.

7.   The executive director shall report to the management board on a quarterly basis on the activities of antenna offices. The activities of the antenna offices shall be described in a separate section of the annual activity report.

1.   Member States shall be entitled to receive funding on a yearly basis in the form of financing not linked to costs, in order to support the development of human resources to secure their contributions to the standing corps as set out in Annexes II, III and IV, in accordance with point (a) of Article 125(1) of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046. That financing shall be payable after the end of the year concerned and upon fulfilment of conditions laid down in paragraphs 3 and 4 of this Article. That financing shall be based on a reference amount as set in paragraph 2 of this Article and shall amount to, where applicable:

2.   The reference amount shall be equivalent to the annual basic salary for a contract agent in function group III, grade 8, step 1 as set out in Article 93 of the Conditions of Employment and subject to a correction co-efficient applicable in the Member State concerned.

3.   The annual payment of the amount referred to in point (a) of paragraph 1 of this Article shall only become due provided that the Member States increase their respective overall national border guard staffing accordingly through the recruitment of new staff in the period concerned. The relevant information for the purpose of reporting shall be provided to the Agency in the annual bilateral negotiations and shall be verified through the vulnerability assessment in the following year. The annual payment of the amount referred to in point (b) of paragraph 1 of this Article shall be due in full in relation to the number of staff effectively deployed for a consecutive or non-consecutive period of four months in accordance with Article 57 within the limit set in Annex III and in accordance with Article 58 within the limit set in Annex IV. For effective deployments referred to in point (b) of paragraph 1 of this Article, the payments shall be calculated on a pro rata basis with a reference period of four months.

The Agency shall grant an advance payment linked to the annual payments of the amounts referred to in points (a) and (b) of paragraph 1 of this Article in accordance with the implementing act referred to in paragraph 4 of this Article following the submission of a specific and justified request by the contributing Member State.

4.   The Commission shall adopt an implementing act laying down detailed rules for the annual payment and the monitoring of the applicable conditions provided in paragraph 3 of this Article. Those rules shall include arrangements for advanced payments upon fulfilment of the conditions set out in paragraph 3 of this Article, as well as the arrangements for pro-rata calculations, including with respect to cases where the deployment of technical crew would exceptionally exceed the maximum national contributions set out in Annex III. That implementing act shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 122(2).

5.   When implementing the financial support under this Article, the Agency and the Member States shall ensure compliance with the principles of co-financing and no double funding.

1.   The Agency shall, taking into account the capability roadmap referred to in Article 9(8), where available, and in cooperation with the appropriate training entities of the Member States, and, where appropriate, EASO, FRA, the European Union Agency for the Operational Management of Large-Scale IT Systems in the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice (eu-LISA) and the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Training (CEPOL), develop specific training tools, including specific training in the protection of children and other persons in a vulnerable situation. Training content shall take into account relevant research outcomes and best practices. The Agency shall provide border guards, return specialists, return escorts and other relevant staff who are members of the standing corps as well as forced-return monitors and fundamental rights monitors with specialised training relevant to their tasks and powers. The Agency shall conduct regular exercises with those border guards and other members of the teams in accordance with the specialised training schedule referred to in the annual work programme of the Agency.

2.   The Agency shall ensure that, in addition to the training referred to in Article 55(3), all statutory staff to be deployed as members of the teams have received adequate training in relevant Union and international law, including on fundamental rights, access to international protection, guidelines for the purpose of identifying persons seeking protection and directing them towards the appropriate procedures, guidelines for addressing the special needs of children, including unaccompanied minors, victims of trafficking in human beings, persons in need of urgent medical assistance and other particularly vulnerable persons, and, where it is intended that they participate in sea operations, search and rescue, prior to their initial deployment in operational activities organised by the Agency.

Such training shall also cover the use of force in accordance with Annex V.

3.   For the purpose of paragraph 2, the Agency, on the basis of agreements with selected Member States, shall implement the necessary training programmes in those Member States' specialised institutions for training and education, including the Agency's partnership academies in Member States. The Agency shall ensure that the training follows the common core curricula, is harmonised and fosters mutual understanding and a common culture based on the values enshrined in the Treaties. The Agency shall cover the full cost of training.

The Agency, after obtaining the approval of the management board, may set up an Agency training centre to further facilitate the inclusion of a common European culture in the training provided.

4.   The Agency shall take the necessary initiatives to ensure that all staff of the Member States who participate in the teams from the standing corps have received the training referred to in the first subparagraph of paragraph 2.

5.   The Agency shall take the necessary initiatives to ensure training for staff involved in return-related tasks who are allocated to the standing corps or to the pool referred to in Article 51. The Agency shall ensure that statutory staff and all staff who participate in return operations or return interventions have received training in relevant Union and international law, including on fundamental rights, access to international protection and on referral of vulnerable persons, prior to their participation in operational activities organised by the Agency.

6.   The Agency shall establish and further develop common core curricula for the training of border guards and provide training at European level for instructors of the border guards of Member States, including with regard to fundamental rights, access to international protection and relevant maritime law, as well as a common curriculum for the training of staff involved in return-related tasks. The common core curricula shall aim to promote the highest standards and best practices in the implementation of Union border management and return law. The Agency shall draw up the common core curricula after consulting the consultative forum referred to in Article 108 (the ‘consultative forum’) and the fundamental rights officer. Member States shall integrate the common core curricula into the training they provide to their national border guards and staff involved in return-related tasks.

7.   The Agency shall also offer additional training courses and seminars on subjects related to external border control and return of third-country nationals for officers of the competent services of Member States and, where appropriate, of third countries.

8.   The Agency may organise training activities in cooperation with Member States and third countries on their territory.

9.   The Agency shall establish an exchange programme enabling border guards participating in its teams and staff participating in the return intervention teams to acquire knowledge or specific know-how from experience and good practices abroad by working with border guards and staff involved in return-related tasks in a Member State other than their own.

10.   The Agency shall establish and further develop an internal quality control mechanism to ensure a high level of training, expertise and professionalism of statutory staff, in particular statutory staff who participate in the operational activities of the Agency. On the basis of the implementation of the quality control mechanism, the Agency shall prepare an annual evaluation report which shall be annexed to the annual activity report.

1.   The Agency may acquire, either on its own or as co-owner with a Member State, or lease technical equipment to be deployed during joint operations, pilot projects, rapid border interventions, activities in the area of return, including return operations and return interventions, migration management support team deployments or technical assistance projects in accordance with the financial rules applicable to the Agency.

2.   On the basis of a proposal from the executive director, the management board shall adopt a comprehensive multiannual strategy on how the Agency's own technical capabilities are to be developed taking into account the multiannual strategic policy cycle for European integrated border management, including the capability roadmap referred to in Article 9(8), where available, and the budgetary resources made available for that purpose in the multiannual financial framework. To ensure compliance with the applicable legal, financial and policy frameworks, the executive director shall only make the proposal after receiving the positive opinion of the Commission.

The multiannual strategy shall be accompanied by a detailed implementation plan specifying the timeline for acquisition or leasing, procurement planning and risk mitigation. If the management board, when adopting the strategy and the plan, decides to depart from the opinion of the Commission, it shall provide the Commission with a justification for doing so. Following the adoption of the multiannual strategy, the implementation plan shall become part of the multiannual programming component of the single programing document referred to in point (k) of Article 100(2).

3.   The Agency may acquire technical equipment by decision of the executive director in consultation with the management board in accordance with the applicable procurement rules. Any acquisition or leasing of equipment entailing significant costs to the Agency shall be preceded by a thorough needs and cost-benefit analysis. Any expenditure related to such acquisition or leasing shall be provided for in the Agency's budget adopted by the management board.

4.   Where the Agency acquires or leases major technical equipment such as aircraft, service vehicles or vessels, the following conditions shall apply:

5.   On the basis of a model agreement drawn up by the Agency and approved by the management board, the Member State of registration and the Agency shall agree on terms ensuring the operability of the equipment. In the case of co-owned assets, the terms shall also cover the periods of full availability of the assets for the Agency and determine the use of those assets, including specific provisions on rapid deployment during rapid border interventions and the financing of those assets.

6.   Where the Agency does not have the required qualified statutory staff, the Member State of registration or the supplier of technical equipment shall provide the necessary experts and technical crew to operate the technical equipment in a legally sound and safe manner in accordance with the model agreement referred to in paragraph 5 of this Article and planned on the basis of the annual bilateral negotiations and agreements referred to in Article 64(9). In such a case, technical equipment owned solely by the Agency shall be made available to the Agency upon its request and the Member State of registration may not invoke the exceptional situation referred to in Article 64(9).

When requesting a Member State to provide technical equipment and staff, the Agency shall take into account the particular operational challenges facing that Member State at the time of the request.

1.   The Agency shall set up and keep centralised records of equipment in a technical equipment pool composed of equipment owned either by the Member States or by the Agency and equipment co-owned by the Member States and by the Agency for its operational activities.

2.   Equipment solely owned by the Agency shall be fully available for deployment at any time.

3.   Equipment co-owned by the Agency at a share of more than 50 % shall also be available for deployment in accordance with an agreement between a Member State and the Agency, concluded in accordance with Article 63(5).

4.   The Agency shall ensure the compatibility and interoperability of the equipment listed in the technical equipment pool.

5.   For the purposes of paragraph 4, the Agency, in close cooperation with the Member States and the Commission, shall define technical standards for the equipment to be deployed in the activities of the Agency, where necessary. Equipment that is acquired by the Agency, whether as sole or co-owner, and equipment owned by Member States which is listed in the technical equipment pool shall meet those standards.

6.   On the basis of a proposal from the executive director taking into account the Agency's risk analysis and the results of vulnerability assessments, the management board shall decide, by 31 March of each year, on the minimum number of items of technical equipment required to meet the needs of the Agency in the following year, in particular as regards carrying out joint operations, migration management support team deployments, rapid border interventions, activities in the area of return, including return operations and return interventions. The Agency's own equipment shall be included in the minimum number of items of technical equipment. That decision shall establish rules relating to the deployment of technical equipment in the operational activities.

If the minimum number of items of technical equipment proves to be insufficient to carry out the operational plan agreed for such activities, the Agency shall revise that minimum number on the basis of justified needs and of an agreement with the Member States.

7.   The technical equipment pool shall contain the minimum number of items of equipment identified as needed by the Agency per type of technical equipment. The equipment listed in the technical equipment pool shall be deployed during joint operations, migration management support team deployments, pilot projects, rapid border interventions, return operations or return interventions.

8.   The technical equipment pool shall include a rapid reaction equipment pool containing a limited number of items of equipment needed for possible rapid border interventions. The contributions of Member States to the rapid reaction equipment pool shall be planned in accordance with the annual bilateral negotiations and agreements referred in paragraph 9 of this Article. For the equipment on the list of the items in that pool, Member States may not invoke the exceptional situation referred to in paragraph 9 of this Article.

The Member State concerned shall send the equipment on that list, together with the necessary experts and technical crew, to the destination for deployment as soon as possible, and, in any event, no later than 10 days after the date on which the operational plan is agreed.

The Agency shall contribute to this pool with equipment at the Agency's disposal as referred to in Article 63(1).

9.   Member States shall contribute to the technical equipment pool. The contribution by Member States to the pool and deployment of the technical equipment for specific operations shall be planned on the basis of annual bilateral negotiations and agreements between the Agency and Member States. In accordance with those agreements and to the extent that it forms part of the minimum number of items of technical equipment for a given year, Member States shall make their technical equipment available for deployment at the request of the Agency, unless they are faced with an exceptional situation substantially affecting the discharge of national tasks. If a Member State invokes such an exceptional situation, it shall provide, in writing, comprehensive reasons and information on the situation to the Agency, the content of which shall be included in the report referred to in Article 65(1). The Agency's request shall be made at least 45 days before the intended deployment of major technical equipment and 30 days before the intended deployment of other equipment. The contributions to the technical equipment pool shall be reviewed annually.

10.   On the basis of a proposal from the executive director, the management board shall decide, on a yearly basis, on the rules relating to technical equipment, including the required overall minimum numbers of items per type of technical equipment and the terms for the deployment and reimbursement of costs as well as on the limited number of items of technical equipment for a rapid reaction equipment pool. For budgetary purposes that decision shall be taken by the management board by 31 March of each year.

11.   Where a rapid border intervention takes place, Article 39(15) shall apply accordingly.

12.   Where unexpected needs for technical equipment for a joint operation or a rapid border intervention arise after the minimum number of items of technical equipment has been set and those needs cannot be met from the technical equipment pool or the rapid reaction equipment pool, Member States shall, where possible, on an ad hoc basis, make the necessary technical equipment available for deployment to the Agency upon its request.

13.   The executive director shall regularly report to the management board on the composition and the deployment of equipment which is part of the technical equipment pool. Where the minimum number of items of technical equipment required in the pool has not been met, the executive director shall inform the management board without delay. The management board shall take a decision on the prioritisation of the deployment of the technical equipment urgently and take the appropriate steps to remedy the shortfall. The management board shall inform the Commission of the shortfall and the steps it has taken. The Commission shall subsequently inform the European Parliament and the Council thereof and of its own assessment.

14.   Member States shall register in the technical equipment pool all the means of transport and operating equipment purchased under the specific actions of the Internal Security Fund in accordance with Article 7(1) of Regulation (EU) No 515/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council (42) or, where relevant, any other future dedicated Union funding made available to the Member States with the clear objective of increasing the operational capacity of the Agency. That technical equipment shall form part of the minimum number of items of technical equipment for a given year.

Upon a request made by the Agency in the framework of the annual bilateral negotiations, the Member States shall make technical equipment co-financed under the specific actions of the Internal Security Fund or by any other future dedicated Union funding as specified in the first subparagraph of this paragraph available for deployment to the Agency. Each item of equipment shall be made available for a period of up to four months as planned in the annual bilateral negotiations. Member States may decide to deploy an item of equipment beyond four months. In the case of an operational activity referred to in Article 39 or 42 of this Regulation, Member States may not invoke the exceptional situation referred to in paragraph 9 of this Article.

15.   The Agency shall manage the records of the technical equipment pool as follows:

16.   The Agency shall finance 100 % of the deployment of technical equipment which forms part of the minimum number of items of technical equipment provided by a given Member State for a given year. The deployment of technical equipment which does not form part of the minimum number of items of technical equipment shall be co-financed by the Agency, up to a maximum of 100 % of the eligible expenses, taking into account the particular circumstances of the Member States deploying such technical equipment.

1.   On the basis of a proposal from the executive director, the management board shall adopt and submit to the European Parliament, to the Council and to the Commission an annual report on the implementation of Articles 51, 55, 56, 57, 58, 63 and 64 (‘annual implementation report’).

2.   The annual implementation report shall include, in particular:

3.   The annual implementation report shall list the Member States that invoked the exceptional situation referred to in Article 57(9) and Article 64(9) in the previous year and include the reasons and information provided by the Member State concerned.

4.   To ensure transparency, the executive director shall inform the management board on a quarterly basis on the elements listed in paragraph 2 in relation to the ongoing year.

1.   The Agency shall proactively monitor and contribute to research and innovation activities relevant for European integrated border management including the use of advanced border control technology, taking into account the capability roadmap referred to in Article 9(8). The Agency shall disseminate the results of that research to the European Parliament, to the Member States and to the Commission in accordance with Article 92. It may use those results as appropriate in joint operations, rapid border interventions, return operations and return interventions.

2.   The Agency, taking into account the capability roadmap referred to in Article 9(8), shall assist the Member States and the Commission in identifying key research themes. The Agency shall assist Member States and the Commission in drawing up and implementing the relevant Union framework programmes for research and innovation activities.

3.   The Agency shall implement the parts of the Framework Programme for Research and Innovation which relate to border security. For that purpose, and where the Commission has delegated the relevant powers to it, the Agency shall have the following tasks:

4.   The Agency may plan and implement pilot projects regarding matters covered by this Regulation.

5.   The Agency shall make public information on its research projects, including demonstration projects, the cooperation partners involved and the project budget.

1.   The Agency shall cooperate with Union institutions, bodies, offices and agencies, and may cooperate with international organisations, within their respective legal frameworks, and shall make use of existing information, resources and systems available in the framework of EUROSUR.

In accordance with the first subparagraph, the Agency shall cooperate, in particular, with:

The Agency may also cooperate with the following international organisations, as relevant to its tasks, within their respective legal frameworks:

2.   The cooperation referred to in paragraph 1 shall take place within the framework of working arrangements concluded with the entities referred to in paragraph 1. Such arrangements shall be subject to the Commission's prior approval. The Agency shall inform the European Parliament and the Council of any such arrangements.

3.   As regards the handling of classified information, the working arrangements referred to in paragraph 2 shall provide that the Union body, office or agency or international organisation concerned comply with security rules and standards equivalent to those applied by the Agency. An assessment visit shall be conducted prior to the conclusion of an arrangement and the Commission shall be informed of the outcome of the assessment visit.

4.   Although outside the scope of this Regulation, the Agency shall also engage in cooperation with the Commission and, where relevant, with Member States and the EEAS in activities relating to the customs area, including risk management, where those activities support each other. That cooperation shall be without prejudice to the existing competence of the Commission, of the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and of the Member States.

5.   Union institutions, bodies, offices, agencies, and the international organisations referred to in paragraph 1, shall use information received from the Agency only within the limits of their competence and insofar as they respect fundamental rights, including data protection requirements.

Any transmission of personal data processed by the Agency to other Union institutions, bodies, offices and agencies under points (c) and (d) of Article 87(1) shall be subject to specific working arrangements regarding the exchange of personal data.

The working arrangements referred to in the second subparagraph shall include a provision ensuring that personal data transmitted to Union institutions, bodies, offices and agencies by the Agency may be processed for another purpose only if authorised by the Agency and if compatible with the initial purpose for which the data were collected and transmitted by the Agency. Those Union institutions, bodies, offices and agencies shall keep written records of a case-by-case compatibility assessment.

Any transfer of personal data by the Agency to international organisations under point (c) of Article 87(1) shall be in accordance with the data protection provisions laid down in Section 2 of Chapter IV.

In particular, the Agency shall ensure that any working arrangement concluded with international organisations regarding the exchange of personal data under point (c) of Article 87(1) complies with Chapter V of Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 and is subject to the authorisation of the European Data Protection Supervisor, where provided for by that Regulation.

The Agency shall ensure that personal data transferred to international organisations are only processed for the purposes for which they were transferred.

6.   The exchange of information between the Agency and Union institutions, bodies, offices and agencies, and international organisations referred to in paragraph 1, shall be conducted via the communication network referred to in Article 14 or via other accredited information exchange systems which fulfil the criteria of availability, confidentiality and integrity.

1.   Without prejudice to EUROSUR, the Agency shall, in cooperation with EFCA and EMSA, support national authorities carrying out coast guard functions at national and Union level and, where appropriate, at international level by:

2.   The precise forms of cooperation on coast guard functions between the Agency, EFCA and EMSA shall be determined in a working arrangement in accordance with their respective mandates and with the financial rules applicable to those agencies. Such an arrangement shall be approved by the management board of the Agency and the administrative boards of EFCA and EMSA. The Agency, EFCA and EMSA shall use information received in the context of their cooperation only within the limits of their legal framework and in compliance with fundamental rights, including data protection requirements.

3.   The Commission shall, in close cooperation with the Member States, the Agency, EFCA and EMSA, make available a practical handbook on European cooperation on coast guard functions. That handbook shall contain guidelines, recommendations and best practices for the exchange of information. The Commission shall adopt the handbook in the form of a recommendation.

1.   The Agency shall facilitate operational cooperation of the Member States with Ireland and the United Kingdom in specific activities.

2.   For the purposes of EUROSUR, the exchange of information and cooperation with Ireland and the United Kingdom may take place on the basis of bilateral or multilateral agreements between Ireland or the United Kingdom respectively and one or several neighbouring Member States or through regional networks based on those agreements. The national coordination centres shall be the contact points for the exchange of information with the corresponding authorities of Ireland and the United Kingdom within EUROSUR.

3.   The agreements referred to in paragraph 2 shall be limited to the following exchanges of information between a national coordination centre and the corresponding authority of Ireland or the United Kingdom:

4.   Information provided in the context of EUROSUR by the Agency or by a Member State which is not party to an agreement as referred to in paragraph 2 shall not be shared with Ireland or the United Kingdom without the prior approval of the Agency or that Member State. The Member States and the Agency shall be bound by the refusal to share that information with Ireland or the United Kingdom.

5.   The onward transmission or other communication of information exchanged under this Article to third countries or to third parties shall be prohibited.

6.   The agreements referred to in paragraph 2 shall include provisions on the financial costs arising from the participation of Ireland or the United Kingdom in the implementation of those agreements.

7.   Support to be provided by the Agency pursuant to points (n), (o) and (p) of Article 10(1) shall cover the organisation of return operations of Member States in which Ireland or the United Kingdom also participates.

8.   The application of this Regulation to the borders of Gibraltar shall be suspended until the date on which an agreement is reached on the scope of the measures concerning the crossing by persons of the external borders.

1.   The Member States and the Agency shall cooperate with third countries for the purpose of European integrated border management and migration policy in accordance with point (g) of Article 3(1).

2.   On the basis of the policy priorities set out in accordance with Article 8(4), the Agency shall provide technical and operational assistance to third countries within the framework of the external action policy of the Union, including with regard to the protection of fundamental rights and personal data and with regard to the principle of non-refoulement.

3.   The Agency and Member States shall comply with Union law, including norms and standards which form part of the Union acquis, including where cooperation with third countries takes place on the territory of those third countries.

4.   The establishment of cooperation with third countries shall serve to promote European integrated border management standards.

1.   Member States may cooperate at an operational level with one or more third countries in relation to the areas covered by this Regulation. Such cooperation may include the exchange of information and may take place on the basis of bilateral or multilateral agreements, other forms of arrangements, or through regional networks established on the basis of those agreements.

2.   When concluding the bilateral and multilateral agreements referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article, Member States may include provisions concerning the exchange of information and cooperation for the purposes of EUROSUR in accordance with Articles 75 and 89.

3.   The bilateral and multilateral agreements and other forms of arrangements referred to in paragraph 1 shall comply with Union and international law on fundamental rights and on international protection, including the Charter, the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms and the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, the 1967 Protocol thereto, and in particular the principle of non-refoulement. When implementing such agreements and arrangements, Member States shall assess and take into account the general situation in the third country on a regular basis, and shall have regard to Article 8.

1.   The Agency may cooperate, to the extent required for the fulfilment of its tasks, with the authorities of third countries competent in matters covered by this Regulation. The Agency shall comply with Union law, including norms and standards which form part of the Union acquis, including where cooperation with third countries takes place on the territory of those third countries.

2.   When cooperating with the authorities of third countries, as referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article, the Agency shall act within the framework of the external action policy of the Union, including with regard to the protection of fundamental rights and personal data, the principle of non-refoulement, the prohibition of arbitrary detention and the prohibition of torture and inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, with the support of, and in coordination with, Union delegations and, where relevant, CSDP missions and operations in accordance with point (j) of the second subparagraph of Article 68(1).

3.   In circumstances requiring the deployment of border management teams from the standing corps to a third country where the members of the teams will exercise executive powers, a status agreement drawn up on the basis of the model status agreement referred to in Article 76(1) shall be concluded by the Union with the third country concerned on the basis of Article 218 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU). The status agreement shall cover all aspects that are necessary for carrying out the actions. It shall set out, in particular, the scope of the operation, provisions on civil and criminal liability, the tasks and powers of the members of the teams, measures related to the establishment of an antenna office and practical measures related to the respect of fundamental rights. The status agreement shall ensure that fundamental rights are fully respected during those operations and shall provide for a complaints mechanism. The European Data Protection Supervisor shall be consulted on the provisions of the status agreement related to the transfer of data if those provisions differ substantially from the model status agreement.

4.   Where available, the Agency shall also act within the framework of working arrangements concluded with the authorities of third countries referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article in accordance with Union law and policy, in accordance with Article 76(4).

The working arrangements referred to in the first subparagraph of this paragraph shall specify the scope, nature and purpose of the cooperation and shall be related to the management of operational cooperation. Such working arrangements may include provisions concerning the exchange of sensitive non-classified information and cooperation in the framework of EUROSUR in accordance with Article 74(3).

The Agency shall ensure that the third countries to which information is transferred only process that information for the purposes for which it was transferred. Any working arrangements on exchanging classified information shall be concluded in accordance with Article 76(4) of this Regulation. The Agency shall request prior authorisation from the European Data Protection Supervisor where those working arrangements provide for the transfer of personal data and where provided for by Regulation (EU) 2018/1725.

5.   The Agency shall contribute to the implementation of the Union external policy on return and readmission within the framework of the external action policy of the Union and regarding matters covered by this Regulation.

6.   The Agency may receive Union funding in accordance with the provisions of the relevant instruments supporting third countries and activities relating to them. It may launch and finance technical assistance projects in third countries regarding matters covered by this Regulation and in accordance with the financial rules applicable to the Agency. Such projects shall be included in the single programming document referred to in Article 102.

7.   The Agency shall inform the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission of activities conducted pursuant to this Article and, in particular, of the activities related to technical and operational assistance in the field of border management and return in third countries, and the deployment of liaison officers, and shall provide them with detailed information on compliance with fundamental rights. The Agency shall make public the agreements, working arrangements, pilot projects and technical assistance projects with third countries in accordance with Article 114(2).

8.   The Agency shall include an assessment of the cooperation with third countries in its annual reports.

1.   The Agency may coordinate operational cooperation between Member States and third countries and provide technical and operational assistance to third countries in the context of European integrated border management.

2.   The Agency may carry out actions related to European integrated border management on the territory of a third country subject to the agreement of that third country.

3.   Operations on the territory of a third country shall be included in the annual work programme adopted by the management board in accordance with Article 102, and shall be carried out on the basis of an operational plan agreed between the Agency and the third country concerned and in consultation with the participating Member States. Where a Member State or Member States neighbour the third country or border the operational area of the third country, the operational plan and any amendments thereto shall be subject to the agreement of that Member State or those Member States. Articles 38, 43, 46, 47 and 54 to 57 shall apply mutatis mutandis to deployments in third countries.

4.   The executive director shall ensure the security of the staff deployed in third countries.

For the purpose of the first subparagraph, Member States shall inform the executive director of any concern related to the security of their nationals should they be deployed on the territory of certain third countries.

Where the security of any staff member deployed in third countries cannot be guaranteed, the executive director shall take appropriate measures by suspending or terminating the corresponding aspects of the technical and operational assistance provided by the Agency to that third country.

5.   Without prejudice to the deployment of the members of the standing corps in accordance with Articles 54 to 58, the participation of Member States in operations on the territory of third countries shall be voluntary.

In addition to the relevant mechanism referred to in Article 57(9) and paragraph 4 of this Article, where the security of its participating staff cannot be guaranteed to the satisfaction of the Member State, that Member State may opt out of its respective contribution to the operation in the third country in question. Where a Member State invokes such an exceptional situation, it shall provide comprehensive reasons and information on the situation to the Agency in writing, the content of which shall be included in the report referred to in Article 65. Such reasons and information shall be provided during the annual bilateral negotiations or no later than 21 days prior to the deployment. The deployment of staff seconded in accordance with Article 56 shall be subject to the consent of the home Member Sate communicated upon notification by the Agency and no later than 21 days prior to the deployment.

6.   Operational plans as referred to in paragraph 3 may include provisions concerning the exchange of information and cooperation for the purpose of EUROSUR in accordance with Articles 75 and 89.

1.   The national coordination centres and, where relevant, the Agency shall be the contact points for the exchange of information and cooperation with third countries for the purposes of EUROSUR.

2.   The provisions concerning exchange of information and cooperation for the purposes of EUROSUR contained in the bilateral or multilateral agreements referred to in Article 72(2) shall address:

3.   Information provided in the context of EUROSUR by the Agency or by a Member State which is not party to an agreement as referred to in Article 72(1) shall not be shared with a third country under that agreement without the prior approval of the Agency or of that Member State. The Member States and the Agency shall be bound by the refusal to share that information with the third country concerned.

1.   The Commission, after consulting the Member States, the Agency, FRA and the European Data Protection Supervisor, shall draw up a model status agreement for actions conducted on the territory of third countries.

2.   The Commission, in cooperation with the Member States and the Agency, shall draw up model provisions for the exchange of information in the framework of EUROSUR in accordance with Articles 70(2) and 72(2).

The Commission, after consulting the Agency and other relevant Union bodies, offices or agencies, including FRA and the European Data Protection Supervisor, shall draw up a model for the working arrangements referred to in Article 73(4). That model shall include provisions related to fundamental rights and data protection safeguards addressing practical measures.

3.   Before a new bilateral or multilateral agreement as referred to in Article 72(1) is concluded, the Member States concerned shall notify the Commission of the draft provisions related to border management and return.

The Member States concerned shall notify the provisions of such existing and new bilateral and multilateral agreements related to border management and return to the Commission, which shall inform the Council and the Agency thereof.

4.   Before the management board approves any working arrangements between the Agency and competent authorities of third countries, the Agency shall notify them to the Commission, which shall give its prior approval. Before any such working arrangement is concluded, the Agency shall provide the European Parliament with detailed information as regards the parties to the working arrangement and its envisaged content.

5.   The Agency shall notify the operational plans referred to in Article 74(3) to the Commission. Any decision to deploy liaison officers to third countries in accordance with Article 77 shall be subject to receiving the prior opinion of the Commission. The European Parliament shall be kept fully informed of those activities without delay.

1.   The Agency may deploy experts from its statutory staff and other experts as liaison officers, who should enjoy the highest possible protection when carrying out their duties in third countries. They shall form part of the local or regional cooperation networks of immigration liaison officers and security experts of the Union and of the Member States, including the network set up pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2019/1240. By decision of the management board, the Agency may lay down the specific profiles of liaison officers, depending on the operational needs with regard to the third country concerned.

2.   Within the framework of the external action policy of the Union, priority for the deployment of liaison officers shall be given to those third countries which, on the basis of a risk analysis, constitute a country of origin or transit regarding illegal immigration. The Agency may receive liaison officers posted by those third countries on a reciprocal basis. The management board shall, on the basis of a proposal from the executive director, adopt the list of priorities on a yearly basis. The deployment of liaison officers shall be approved by the management board following the opinion of the Commission.

3.   The tasks of the Agency's liaison officers shall include establishing and maintaining contacts with the competent authorities of the third country to which they are assigned with a view to contributing to the prevention of and fight against illegal immigration and the return of returnees, including by providing technical assistance in the identification of third-country nationals and the acquisition of travel documents. Such tasks shall be carried out in compliance with Union law and shall respect fundamental rights. The Agency's liaison officers shall coordinate closely with Union delegations, with Member States in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2019/1240 and, where relevant, with CSDP missions and operations as set out in point (j) of the second subparagraph of Article 68(1). Wherever possible, they shall have their offices in the same premises as the Union delegations.

4.   In third countries where return liaison officers are not deployed by the Agency, the Agency may support a Member State in deploying a return liaison officer to provide support to the Member States, as well as to support the Agency's activities, in accordance with Article 48.

1.   The Agency may, with the agreement of the Member States concerned, invite observers of Union institutions, bodies, offices, agencies or international organisations and CSDP missions and operations referred to in point (j) of the second subparagraph of Article 68(1) to participate in its activities, in particular in joint operations and pilot projects, risk analysis and training, to the extent that their presence is in accordance with the objectives of those activities, may contribute to the improvement of cooperation and the exchange of best practices, and does not affect the overall safety and security of those activities. The participation of such observers in risk analysis and training may take place only with the agreement of the Member States concerned. As regards joint operations and pilot projects, the participation of observers shall be subject to the agreement of the host Member State. Detailed rules on the participation of observers shall be included in the operational plan. Those observers shall receive appropriate training from the Agency prior to their participation.

2.   The Agency may, with the agreement of the Member States concerned, invite observers from third countries to participate in its activities at the external borders, return operations, return interventions and training, as referred to in Article 62, to the extent that their presence is in accordance with the objectives of those activities, may contribute to improving cooperation and the exchange of best practices, and does not affect the overall safety of those activities or the safety of third-country nationals. Detailed rules on the participation of observers shall be included in the operational plan. Those observers shall receive appropriate training from the Agency prior to their participation. They shall be required to adhere to the codes of conduct of the Agency while participating in its activities.

3.   The Agency shall ensure that the presence of observers does not pose any risk related to respect for fundamental rights.

1.   The European Border and Coast Guard shall guarantee the protection of fundamental rights in the performance of its tasks under this Regulation in accordance with relevant Union law, in particular the Charter, and relevant international law, including the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, the 1967 Protocol thereto, the Convention on the Rights of the Child and obligations related to access to international protection, in particular the principle of non-refoulement.

For that purpose, the Agency, with the contribution of and subject to the endorsement by the fundamental rights officer, shall draw up, implement and further develop a fundamental rights strategy and action plan, including an effective mechanism for monitoring respect for fundamental rights in all the activities of the Agency.

2.   In the performance of its tasks, the European Border and Coast Guard shall ensure that no person, in contravention of the principle of non-refoulement, be forced to disembark in, forced to enter, or conducted to a country, or be otherwise handed over or returned to the authorities of a country where there is, inter alia, a serious risk that he or she would be subjected to the death penalty, torture, persecution, or other inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, or where his or her life or freedom would be threatened on account of his or her race, religion, nationality, sexual orientation, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, or from which there is a risk of expulsion, removal, extradition or return to another country in contravention of the principle of non-refoulement.

3.   In the performance of its tasks, the European Border and Coast Guard shall take into account the special needs of children, unaccompanied minors, persons with disabilities, victims of trafficking in human beings, persons in need of medical assistance, persons in need of international protection, persons in distress at sea and other persons in a particularly vulnerable situation, and shall address those needs within its mandate. The European Border and Coast Guard shall in all its activities pay particular attention to children's rights and ensure that the best interests of the child are respected.

4.   In the performance of its tasks, in its relations with Member States and in its cooperation with third countries, the Agency shall take into account the reports of the consultative forum referred to in Article 108 and the reports of the fundamental rights officer.

1.   The Agency shall, in cooperation with the consultative forum, draw up and further develop a code of conduct which shall apply to all border control operations coordinated by the Agency and all persons participating in the activities of the Agency. The code of conduct shall lay down procedures intended to guarantee the principles of the rule of law and respect for fundamental rights with particular focus on vulnerable persons, including children, unaccompanied minors and other persons in a vulnerable situation, as well as on persons seeking international protection.

2.   The Agency shall, in cooperation with the consultative forum, draw up and further develop a code of conduct for return operations and return interventions, which shall apply during all return operations and return interventions coordinated or organised by the Agency. That code of conduct shall describe common standardised procedures to simplify the organisation of return operations and return interventions, and shall assure return in a humane manner and with full respect for fundamental rights, in particular the principles of human dignity, the prohibition of torture and of inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, the right to liberty and security and the right to the protection of personal data and non-discrimination.

3.   The code of conduct for return shall in particular pay attention to the obligation of Member States to provide for an effective forced-return monitoring system as set out in Article 8(6) of Directive 2008/115/EC and to the fundamental rights strategy.

1.   Members of the teams shall have the capacity to perform tasks and exercise powers for border control and return as well as those which are necessary for the realisation of the objectives of Regulations (EU) No 656/2014 and (EU) 2016/399 and Directive 2008/115/EC.

2.   The performance of tasks and the exercise of powers by members of the teams, in particular those requiring executive powers, shall be subject to the authorisation of the host Member State on its territory as well as to applicable Union, national or international law, in particular Regulation (EU) No 656/2014, as described in the operational plans referred to in Article 38.

3.   While performing their tasks and exercising their powers, members of the teams shall fully ensure respect for fundamental rights and shall comply with Union and international law and the national law of the host Member State.

4.   Without prejudice to Article 95(1) as regards statutory staff, members of the teams shall only perform tasks and exercise powers under instructions from and, as a general rule, in the presence of border guards or staff involved in return-related tasks of the host Member State. The host Member State may authorise members of the teams to act on its behalf.

5.   The host Member State may report incidents related to non-compliance with the operational plan by members of the teams, including in relation to fundamental rights, to the Agency via the coordinating officer for possible follow-up, which may include disciplinary measures.

6.   Statutory staff who are members of the teams shall wear the uniform of the standing corps while performing their tasks and exercising their powers. Members of the teams who are seconded from Member States for a long term or who are deployed for a short term shall wear their own uniform while performing their tasks and exercising their powers.

By way of derogation from the first subparagraph of this paragraph, the decision of the management board referred to in point (a) of Article 54(4) shall indicate the profiles to which the obligation to wear a uniform does not apply due to the specific nature of the operational activity.

All members of the teams shall wear visible personal identification and a blue armband with the insignias of the Union and of the Agency on their uniforms, identifying them as participating in a joint operation, migration management support team deployment, pilot project, rapid border intervention, return operation or return intervention. For the purposes of identification vis-à-vis the national authorities of the host Member State, members of the teams shall at all times carry an accreditation document, which they shall present upon request.

The design and specifications for the uniforms of the statutory staff shall be established by a decision of the management board, on the basis of a proposal from the executive director made after receiving the opinion of the Commission.

7.   For staff who are seconded to the Agency or deployed from a Member State for a short term, the ability to carry and use service weapons, ammunition and equipment shall be subject to the home Member State's national law.

The ability to carry and use service weapons, ammunition and equipment by the statutory staff who are deployed as members of the teams shall be subject to the framework and detailed rules laid down in this Article and Annex V.

For the purpose of implementing this paragraph, the executive director may authorise statutory staff to carry and use weapons in accordance with the rules adopted by the management board, in line with point (b) of Article 55(5).

8.   Members of the teams, including statutory staff, shall be authorised for the relevant profiles by the host Member State to perform tasks during a deployment that require the use of force, including the carrying and use of service weapons, ammunition and equipment, and shall be subject to the consent of either the home Member State or, for statutory staff, the Agency. The use of force, including the carrying and use of service weapons, ammunition and equipment, shall be exercised in accordance with the national law of the host Member State and in the presence of border guards of the host Member State. The host Member State may, with the consent of the home Member State or the Agency, where appropriate, authorise members of the teams to use force on its territory in the absence of border guards of the host Member State.

The host Member State may prohibit the carrying of certain service weapons, ammunition and equipment, provided that its own law applies the same prohibition to its own border guards or staff when involved in return-related tasks. The host Member State, in advance of the deployment of the members of the teams, shall inform the Agency of the permissible service weapons, ammunition and equipment and of the conditions for their use. The Agency shall make this information available to Member States.

9.   Service weapons, ammunition and equipment may be used in legitimate self-defence and in legitimate defence of members of the teams or of other persons in accordance with the national law of the host Member State in line with relevant principles of international human rights law and the Charter.

10.   For the purpose of this Regulation, the host Member State shall authorise members of the teams to consult Union databases, the consultation of which is necessary for fulfilling operational aims specified in the operational plan on border checks, border surveillance and return, through their national interfaces or another form of access provided in the Union legal acts establishing such databases, as applicable. The host Member State may also authorise members of the teams to consult its national databases where necessary for the same purpose. Member States shall ensure that they provide such database access in an efficient and effective manner. Members of the teams shall consult only those data which are strictly necessary for performing their tasks and exercising their powers. The host Member State shall, in advance of the deployment of the members of the teams, inform the Agency of the national and Union databases which may be consulted. The Agency shall make this information available to all Member States participating in the deployment.

That consultation shall be carried out in accordance with Union data protection law and the national data protection law of the host Member State.

11.   Decisions to refuse entry in accordance with Article 14 of Regulation (EU) 2016/399 and decisions refusing visas at the border in accordance with Article 35 of Regulation (EC) No 810/2009 shall be taken only by border guards of the host Member State or by members of the teams if they are authorised by the host Member State to act on its behalf.

1.   The Agency shall, in cooperation with the host Member State, issue a document in the official language of the host Member State and another official language of the institutions of the Union to the members of the teams for the purpose of identifying them and as proof of the holder's rights to perform tasks and exercise powers as referred to in Article 82. That document shall include the following features of each member of the teams:

2.   The document shall be returned to the Agency at the end of each joint operation, migration management support team deployment, pilot project, rapid border intervention, return operation or return intervention.

1.   Without prejudice to Article 95, where members of the teams are operating in a host Member State, that Member State shall be liable in accordance with its national law for any damage caused by them during their operations.

2.   Where such damage is caused by the gross negligence or wilful misconduct of the members of the teams seconded or deployed by the Member States, the host Member State may request the home Member State to reimburse it for any sums that the host Member State has paid to the injured parties or persons entitled to receive such sums on behalf of the injured parties.

Where such damage is caused by gross negligence or wilful misconduct by the statutory staff, the host Member State may request the Agency to reimburse it for any sums that the host Member State has paid to the injured parties or persons entitled to receive such sums on behalf of the injured parties. This shall be without prejudice to any action before the Court of Justice of the European Union (the ‘Court of Justice’) against the Agency in accordance with Article 98.

3.   Without prejudice to the exercise of its rights vis-à-vis third parties, each Member State shall waive all its claims against the host Member State or any other Member State for any damage it has sustained, except in cases of gross negligence or wilful misconduct.

4.   Any dispute between Member States, or between a Member State and the Agency, relating to the application of paragraphs 2 and 3 of this Article which cannot be resolved by negotiations between them shall be submitted by them to the Court of Justice.

5.   Without prejudice to the exercise of its rights vis-à-vis third parties, the Agency shall bear the costs of damage to its equipment during deployment, except in cases of gross negligence or wilful misconduct.

1.   The Agency shall apply Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 when processing personal data.

2.   The management board shall adopt internal rules on the application of Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 by the Agency, including rules concerning the data protection officer of the Agency.

The Agency may, in accordance with Article 25 of Regulation (EU) 2018/1725, adopt internal rules restricting the application of Articles 14 to 22, 35 and 36 of that Regulation. In particular, the Agency may, for the performance of its tasks in the area of return, provide for internal rules restricting the application of those provisions on a case-by-case basis as long as the application of those provisions would risk jeopardising return procedures. Such restrictions shall respect the essence of the fundamental rights and freedoms, shall be necessary and proportionate to the objectives pursued and shall contain specific provisions, where relevant, as referred to in Article 25(2) of Regulation (EU) 2018/1725.

3.   The Agency may transfer the personal data referred to in Articles 49, 88 and 89 to a third country or to an international organisation in accordance with Chapter V of Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 insofar as such transfer is necessary for the performance of the Agency's tasks. The Agency shall ensure that personal data that are transferred to a third country or to an international organisation are only processed for the purpose for which they were provided. The Agency shall indicate, at the moment of transferring personal data to a third country or to an international organisation, any restrictions on access to or use of those data, in general or specific terms, including as regards transfer, erasure or destruction. Where the need for such restrictions becomes apparent after the transfer of personal data, the Agency shall inform the third country or the international organisation accordingly. The Agency shall ensure that the third country or international organisation concerned complies with such restrictions.

4.   Transfers of personal data to third countries shall not prejudice the rights of applicants for international protection and of beneficiaries of international protection, in particular as regards non-refoulement and the prohibition against disclosing or obtaining information set out in Article 30 of Directive 2013/32/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council (43).

5.   Member States and the Agency, as appropriate, shall ensure that information that is transferred or disclosed to third countries pursuant to this Regulation is not transmitted onward to other third countries or third parties. Provisions to that effect shall be included in any agreement or arrangement concluded with a third country providing for the exchange of information.

1.   The Agency may process personal data only for the following purposes:

2.   Member States and their law enforcement authorities, the Commission, the EEAS, and those Union bodies, offices and agencies and international organisations referred to in points (c) and (d) of paragraph 1, that provide personal data to the Agency shall determine the purpose or the purposes for which those data are to be processed as referred to in paragraph 1. The Agency may decide to process such personal data for a different purpose which also falls under paragraph 1 only on a case-by-case basis after having determined that such processing is compatible with the initial purpose for which the data were collected and if authorised by the provider of the personal data. The Agency shall keep written records of case-by-case compatibility assessments.

3.   The Agency, the Member States and their law enforcement authorities, the Commission, the EEAS, and those Union bodies, offices and agencies and international organisations referred to in points (c) and (d) of paragraph 1, may indicate, at the moment of transmitting personal data, any restrictions on access to those data or use of such data, in general or specific terms, including as regards the transfer, erasure or destruction of such data. Where the need for such restrictions becomes apparent after the transfer of personal data, they shall inform the recipients accordingly. The recipients shall comply with such restrictions.

1.   Before each joint operation, return operation, return intervention, pilot project, rapid border intervention or migration management support team deployment, the Agency and the host Member State shall determine in a transparent manner the responsibilities for compliance with the data protection obligations. When the purpose and the means of processing are jointly determined by the Agency and the host Member State, they shall be joint controllers by means of concluding an arrangement between them.

For the purposes referred to in points (a), (b), (c), (e) and (f) of Article 87(1), the Agency shall only process the following categories of personal data collected by the Member States, by members of the teams, by its staff or by EASO that have been transmitted to it in the context of joint operations, return operations, return interventions, pilot projects, rapid border interventions, and migration management support team deployments:

2.   The personal data referred to in paragraph 1 may be processed by the Agency in the following cases:

1.   Where the national situational picture requires the processing of personal data, those data shall be processed in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2016/679 and, where applicable, Directive (EU) 2016/680. Each Member State shall designate the authority which is to be considered as controller within the meaning of point 7 of Article 4 of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 or point (8) of Article 3 of Directive (EU) 2016/680, as applicable, and which shall have central responsibility for the processing of personal data by that Member State. Each Member State shall notify the details of that authority to the Commission.

2.   Ship and aircraft identification numbers shall be the only personal data that are permitted to be accessed in the European situational and specific situational pictures and the EUROSUR fusion services.

3.   Where the processing of information in EUROSUR exceptionally requires the processing of personal data other than ship and aircraft identification numbers, any such processing shall be strictly limited to what is necessary for the purposes of EUROSUR in accordance with Article 18.

4.   Any exchange of personal data with third countries in the framework of EUROSUR shall be strictly limited to what is absolutely necessary for the purposes of this Regulation. It shall be carried out in accordance with Chapter V of Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 by the Agency, and in accordance with Chapter V of Regulation (EU) 2016/679, with Chapter V of Directive (EU) 2016/680, as applicable, and with the relevant national provisions on data protection transposing that Directive, by the Member States.

5.   Any exchange of information under Articles 72(2), 73(3) and 74(3) which provides a third country with data that could be used to identify persons or groups of persons whose request for access to international protection is under examination or who are under a serious risk of being subjected to torture, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment, or any other violation of fundamental rights, shall be prohibited.

6.   Member States and the Agency shall keep records of processing activities in accordance with, Article 30 of Regulation (EU) 2016/679, Article 24 of Directive (EU) 2016/680, and Article 31 of Regulation (EU) 2018/1725, as applicable.

1.   Where the Agency, in the performance of its tasks under point (q) of Article 10(1) of this Regulation, processes personal data which it has collected while monitoring migratory flows, carrying out risk analyses or in the course of operations for the purpose of identifying suspects of cross-border crime, it shall process such personal data in accordance with Chapter IX of Regulation (EU) 2018/1725. Personal data processed for that purpose, including licence plate numbers, vehicle identification numbers, telephone numbers and ship or aircraft identification numbers which are linked to such persons, shall relate to natural persons whom the competent authorities of the Member States, Europol, Eurojust, or the Agency have reasonable grounds to suspect are involved in cross-border crime. Such personal data may include personal data of victims or witnesses where those personal data supplement the personal data of suspects processed by the Agency in accordance with this Article.

2.   The Agency shall only exchange personal data as referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article with:

1.   The Agency shall delete personal data as soon as they have been transmitted to the competent authorities of Member States, other Union bodies, offices and agencies, in particular EASO, or transferred to third countries or international organisations or used for the preparation of risk analyses. The retention period shall, in any event, not exceed 90 days after the date of the collection of those data. Data shall be anonymised in the results of risk analyses.

2.   Personal data processed for the purpose of performing return-related tasks shall be deleted as soon as the purpose for which they have been collected has been achieved, and shall be deleted no later than 30 days after the end of those tasks.

3.   Operational personal data processed for the purposes of Article 90 shall be deleted as soon as the purpose for which they have been collected has been achieved by the Agency. The Agency shall continuously review the necessity of storing such data, in particular the personal data of victims and witnesses. In any case, the Agency shall review the necessity of storing such data no later than three months after the start of initial processing of such data, and every six months thereafter. The Agency shall decide on the continued storage of personal data, in particular the personal data of victims and witnesses, until the following review, only if such storage is still necessary for the performance of the Agency's tasks under Article 90.

4.   This Article does not apply to personal data collected in the context of the FADO system.

1.   The Agency shall adopt its own security rules that shall be based on the principles and rules laid down in the Commission's security rules for protecting European Union classified information (EUCI) and sensitive non-classified information including, inter alia, provisions for the exchange of such information with third countries, and processing and storage of such information as set out in Commission Decisions (EU, Euratom) 2015/443 (44) and (EU, Euratom) 2015/444 (45). Any administrative arrangement on the exchange of classified information with the relevant authorities of a third country or, in the absence of such arrangement, any exceptional ad hoc release of EUCI to those authorities, shall be subject to the Commission's prior approval.

2.   The management board shall adopt the Agency's security rules following approval by the Commission. When assessing the proposed security rules, the Commission shall ensure that they are compatible with Decisions (EU, Euratom) 2015/443 and (EU, Euratom) 2015/444.

3.   Classification shall not preclude information being made available to the European Parliament. The transmission and handling of information and documents transmitted to the European Parliament in accordance with this Regulation shall comply with the rules concerning the forwarding and handling of classified information which are applicable between the European Parliament and the Commission.

1.   The Agency shall be a body of the Union. It shall have legal personality.

2.   In each of the Member States, the Agency shall enjoy the most extensive legal capacity accorded to legal persons under their laws. It may, in particular, acquire or dispose of movable and immovable property and may be party to legal proceedings.

3.   The Agency shall be independent in implementing its technical and operational mandate.

4.   The Agency shall be represented by its executive director.

5.   The seat of the Agency shall be Warsaw, Poland.

1.   The necessary arrangements concerning the accommodation to be provided for the Agency in the Member State in which the Agency has its seat and the facilities to be made available by that Member State, as well as the specific rules applicable to the executive director, the deputy executive directors, the members of the management board, Agency staff and members of their families in that Member State shall be laid down in a headquarters agreement between the Agency and the Member State in which the Agency has its seat.

2.   The headquarters agreement shall be concluded after obtaining the approval of the management board.

3.   The Member State in which the Agency has its seat shall provide the best possible conditions to ensure the proper functioning of the Agency, including multilingual, European-oriented schooling and appropriate transport connections.

1.   The Staff Regulations, the Conditions of Employment and the rules adopted in agreement between the institutions of the Union for giving effect to those Staff Regulations and those Conditions of Employment shall apply to statutory staff.

2.   The place of employment shall in principle be the Member State where the Agency's seat is located.

3.   Statutory staff who are subject to the Conditions of Employment shall in principle be engaged initially for a fixed period of five years. Their contracts may in principle be renewed only once, for a fixed period of a maximum of five years. Any further renewal shall be for an indefinite period.

4.   For the purpose of implementing Articles 31 and 44, only statutory staff who are subject to the Staff Regulations or to Title II of the Conditions of Employment may be appointed as liaison officers or coordinating officers. For the purpose of implementing Article 55, only statutory staff who are subject to the Staff Regulations or of the Conditions of Employment may be deployed as members of the teams.

5.   The management board shall adopt implementing rules for giving effect to the Staff Regulations and Conditions of Employment in agreement with the Commission pursuant to Article 110(2) of the Staff Regulations.

6.   Subject to prior approval by the Commission, the management board shall adopt rules related to staff from Member States to be seconded to the Agency in accordance with Article 56 and update them as necessary. Those rules shall include, in particular, the financial arrangements related to those secondments, including insurance, and training. Those rules shall take into account the fact that the staff are seconded to be deployed as members of the teams and are to have the tasks and powers provided for in Article 82. Such rules shall include provisions on the conditions of deployment. Where relevant, the management board shall aim to ensure consistency with the rules applicable to reimbursement of the mission expenses of the statutory staff.

1.   Without prejudice to Articles 84 and 85, the Agency shall be liable for any activities it has undertaken in accordance with this Regulation.

2.   The contractual liability of the Agency shall be governed by the law applicable to the contract in question.

3.   The Court of Justice shall have jurisdiction to give judgment pursuant to any arbitration clause contained in a contract concluded by the Agency.

4.   In the case of non-contractual liability, the Agency shall, in accordance with the general principles common to the laws of the Member States, make good any damage caused by its departments or by its staff in the performance of their duties, including those related to the use of executive powers.

5.   The Court of Justice shall have jurisdiction in disputes relating to compensation for the damage referred to in paragraph 4.

6.   The personal liability of statutory staff towards the Agency shall be governed by the provisions laid down in the Staff Regulations and Conditions of Employment applicable to them.

1.   Proceedings may be brought before the Court of Justice for the annulment of acts of the Agency that are intended to produce legal effects vis-à-vis third parties, in accordance with Article 263 TFEU, and for failure to act, in accordance with Article 265 TFEU, for non-contractual liability for damages caused by the Agency and, pursuant to an arbitration clause, contractual liability for damages caused by acts of the Agency, in accordance with Article 340 TFEU.

2.   The Agency shall take the necessary measures to comply with judgments of the Court of Justice.

1.   The management board shall be responsible for taking the strategic decisions of the Agency in accordance with this Regulation.

2.   The management board shall:

The annual activity report referred to in point (j) shall be made public.

3.   Proposals for decisions of the management board, as referred to in paragraph 2, on specific activities of the Agency to be carried out at, or in the immediate vicinity of, the external borders of any particular Member State or on working arrangements with third countries as referred to in Article 73(4) shall require a vote in favour of their adoption by the member of the management board representing that particular Member State or the Member State neighbouring that third country, respectively.

4.   The management board may advise the executive director on any matter related to the development of operational management of the external borders and training, including activities related to research.

5.   Should Ireland or the United Kingdom request to participate in specific activities, the management board shall decide thereon.

The management board shall take its decisions on a case-by-case basis. In its decisions, the management board shall consider whether the participation of Ireland or the United Kingdom contributes to the achievement of the activity in question. The decisions shall set out the financial contribution of Ireland or the United Kingdom to the activity for which the request for participation has been made.

6.   The management board shall forward annually to the European Parliament and to the Council (‘the budgetary authority’) any information relevant to the outcome of the evaluation procedures conducted by the Agency.

7.   The management board may establish an executive board composed of up to four representatives of the management board, including its chairperson, and a representative of the Commission, to assist it and the executive director with regard to the preparation of the decisions, programmes and activities to be adopted by the management board and to take certain provisional, urgent decisions on behalf of the management board when necessary. The executive board shall not take decisions that must be passed by a majority of two thirds of the management board. The management board may delegate certain clearly defined tasks to the executive board, in particular where this improves the efficiency of the Agency. It may not delegate to the executive board tasks related to decisions that must be passed by a majority of two thirds of the management board.

8.   The management board shall adopt, in accordance with Article 110 of the Staff Regulations, a decision based on Article 2(1) of the Staff Regulations and on Article 6 of the Conditions of Employment, delegating relevant appointing-authority powers to the executive director and setting out the conditions under which this delegation of powers can be suspended. The executive director shall be authorised to sub-delegate those powers.

Where exceptional circumstances so require, the management board may by way of a decision temporarily suspend the delegation of the appointing-authority powers to the executive director and those sub-delegated by the latter. It may then exercise them itself or delegate them to one of its members or to a statutory staff member other than the executive director.

1.   Without prejudice to paragraph 3, the management board shall be composed of one representative of each Member State and two representatives of the Commission, each with a right to vote. To this effect, each Member State shall appoint a member of the management board as well as an alternate who will represent the member in his or her absence. The Commission shall appoint two members and two alternates. The duration of the terms of office shall be four years. The terms of office shall be extendable.

2.   The management board members shall be appointed on the basis of the degree of their relevant high-level experience, their expertise in the field of operational cooperation on border management and return, and their relevant managerial, administrative and budgetary skills. Member States and the Commission shall aim to achieve a gender-balanced representation on the management board.

3.   Countries associated with the implementation, application and development of the Schengen acquis shall participate in the Agency. They shall each have one representative and one alternate on the management board. The arrangements developed under the relevant provisions of their association agreements that specify the nature and extent of, and the detailed rules for, the participation by those countries in the work of the Agency, including provisions on financial contributions and staff, shall apply.

1.   The management board shall, by 30 November of each year, adopt a single programming document containing, inter alia, the Agency's multiannual programming and annual programming for the following year, on the basis of a draft put forward by the executive director and endorsed by the management board. The single programming document shall be adopted taking into account a positive opinion of the Commission and, as regards the multiannual programming, after having consulted the European Parliament and the Council. If the management board decides not to take into account elements of the opinion of the Commission, it shall provide a thorough justification. The obligation to provide a thorough justification shall also apply to the elements raised by the European Parliament and the Council during the consultation. The management board shall forward the document to the European Parliament, to the Council and to the Commission without delay.

2.   The document referred to in paragraph 1 shall become definitive after the final adoption of the general budget. It shall be adjusted accordingly where necessary.

3.   In line with the multiannual strategic policy cycle for European integrated border management, the multiannual programming shall set out overall strategic programming for the medium and long term, which shall include objectives, expected results, performance indicators and resource planning, including the multiannual budget, staff and the development of the Agency's own capabilities, including indicative multiannual planning of the profiles of staff for the standing corps. The multiannual programming shall set out the strategic areas of intervention and what needs to be done to achieve the objectives. It shall include strategic actions for the implementation of the fundamental rights strategy referred to in Article 80(1) and a strategy for relations with third countries and international organisations as well as the actions linked to that strategy.

4.   The multiannual programming shall be implemented by means of annual work programmes and shall, where appropriate, be updated following the outcome of an evaluation conducted pursuant to Article 121. The conclusion of those evaluations shall also be reflected, where appropriate, in the annual work programme for the following year.

5.   The annual work programme shall contain a description of the activities to be financed, comprising detailed objectives and expected results, including performance indicators. It shall also contain an indication of the financial and human resources allocated to each activity, in accordance with the principles of activity-based budgeting and management. The annual work programme shall be consistent with the multiannual programming. It shall clearly indicate tasks that have been added, changed or deleted compared with the previous financial year.

6.   The annual work programme shall be adopted in accordance with the Union legislative programme in relevant areas of the management of the external borders and return.

7.   Where, after adoption of an annual work programme, a new task is assigned to the Agency, the management board shall amend the annual work programme.

8.   Any substantial amendment to the annual work programme, especially a modification resulting in a reallocation of the budgetary resources above 2 % of the annual budget, shall be adopted by the same procedure as that applicable to adoption of the initial annual work programme. The management board may delegate to the executive director the power to make non-substantial amendments to the annual work programme.

1.   The management board shall elect a chairperson and a deputy chairperson from among its members with a right to vote. The chairperson and the deputy chairperson shall be elected by a majority of two thirds of the members of the management board with a right to vote. The deputy chairperson shall ex officio replace the chairperson in the event of his or her being prevented from attending to his or her duties.

2.   The terms of office of the chairperson and deputy chairperson shall expire when their respective membership of the management board ceases. Subject to this provision, the terms of office of the chairperson or deputy chairperson shall be four years. Those terms of office shall be extendable once.

1.   Meetings of the management board shall be convened by its chairperson.

2.   The executive director shall take part in the deliberations without the right to vote.

3.   The management board shall hold at least two ordinary meetings a year. In addition, it shall meet at the initiative of the chairperson, at the request of the Commission, or at the request of at least one third of the members of the management board. Where necessary, the management board may hold joint meetings with the management boards of EASO and Europol.

4.   Ireland shall be invited to attend the meetings of the management board.

5.   The United Kingdom shall be invited to attend meetings of the management board that take place before the day on which the Treaties cease to apply to the United Kingdom pursuant to Article 50(3) TEU.

6.   Representatives of EASO and Europol shall be invited to attend the meetings of the management board. A representative of FRA shall be invited to attend meetings of the management board where points relevant to the protection of fundamental rights are on the agenda.

7.   The chairperson of the management board may also invite an expert of the European Parliament to attend the meetings of the management board. The management board may also invite representatives of other relevant Union institutions, bodies, offices and agencies. The management board may invite, in accordance with its rules of procedure, any other person whose opinion may be of interest to attend its meetings as an observer.

8.   The members of the management board may, subject to the provisions of its rules of procedure, be assisted by advisers or experts.

9.   The secretariat for the management board shall be provided by the Agency.

1.   Without prejudice to points (c), (d), (k) and (m) of Article 100(2), Article 103(1), and Article 107(2) and (4), the management board shall take its decisions by an absolute majority of its members with a right to vote.

2.   Each member shall have one vote. In the absence of a member, his or her alternate shall be entitled to exercise his or her right to vote. The executive director shall not vote.

3.   The rules of procedure shall set out the voting arrangements in greater detail. Those rules shall include the conditions for a member to act on behalf of another member as well as any quorum requirements.

4.   Representatives of countries associated with the implementation, application and development of the Schengen acquis shall have limited voting rights corresponding to their respective arrangements. In order to allow the associated countries to exercise their right to vote, the Agency shall detail the agenda identifying the points for which a limited voting right has been granted.

1.   The Agency shall be managed by its executive director, who shall be completely independent in the performance of his or her duties. Without prejudice to the respective competencies of the Union institutions and the management board, the executive director shall neither seek nor take instructions from any government or from any other body.

2.   The European Parliament or the Council may invite the executive director to report on the carrying out of his or her tasks. This includes reporting on the activities of the Agency, the implementation and monitoring of the fundamental rights strategy, the annual activity report of the Agency for the previous year, the work programme for the following year and the Agency's multiannual programming and any other matter related to the activities of the Agency. The executive director shall also make a statement before the European Parliament, if requested, and shall answer in writing any question put forward by a Member of the European Parliament within 15 calendar days from receipt of such question. The executive director shall report regularly to the appropriate bodies and committees of the European Parliament.

3.   Except where specific deadlines are provided for in this Regulation, the executive director shall ensure that reports are transmitted to the European Parliament, to the Council and to the Commission as soon as possible, and in any event within six months of the end of the reporting period, unless the executive director duly justifies a delay in writing.

4.   The executive director shall be responsible for the preparation and implementation of the strategic decisions taken by the management board and for the taking of decisions related to the operational activities of the Agency in accordance with this Regulation. The executive director shall have the following functions and powers:

5.   The executive director shall be accountable for his or her activities to the management board.

6.   The executive director shall be the legal representative of the Agency.

1.   The Commission shall propose at least three candidates for the post of executive director and for the posts of each of the deputy executive directors on the basis of a list, following the publication of the post in the Official Journal of the European Union and, as appropriate, other press or internet sites.

2.   On the basis of a proposal from the Commission, as provided for in paragraph 1, the management board shall appoint the executive director on the grounds of merit and documented high-level administrative and management skills, including relevant senior professional experience in the field of management of the external borders and return. Before appointment, the candidates proposed by the Commission shall be invited to make a statement before the competent committee or committees of the European Parliament and answer questions put by its or their members.

Following such statements, the European Parliament shall adopt an opinion setting out its views and may indicate a preferred candidate.

The management board shall appoint the executive director taking those views into account. The management board shall take its decision by a majority of two thirds of the members with a right to vote.

If the management board takes a decision to appoint a candidate other than the candidate whom the European Parliament indicated as its preferred candidate, the management board shall inform the European Parliament and the Council in writing of the manner in which the opinion of the European Parliament was taken into account.

The power to dismiss the executive director shall lie with the management board, acting on a proposal from the Commission.

3.   The executive director shall be assisted by three deputy executive directors. Each deputy executive director shall be assigned a specific area of responsibility. If the executive director is absent or indisposed, one of the deputy executive directors shall take his or her place.

4.   On the basis of a proposal from the Commission, as provided for in paragraph 1, the management board shall appoint the deputy executive directors on the grounds of merit and appropriate administrative and management skills, including relevant professional experience in the field of management of the external borders and return. The executive director shall be involved in the selection process. The management board shall take its decision by a majority of two thirds of the members with a right to vote.

The management board shall have the power to dismiss the deputy executive directors in accordance with the procedure set out in the first subparagraph.

5.   The term of office of the executive director shall be five years. By the end of that period, the Commission shall undertake an assessment that takes into account an evaluation of the executive director's performance and the Agency's future tasks and challenges.

6.   The management board, acting on a proposal from the Commission that takes into account the assessment referred to in paragraph 5, may extend the term of office of the executive director once for another period of up to five years.

7.   The term of office of the deputy executive directors shall be five years. The management board, acting on a proposal from the Commission, may extend that term once for another period of up to five years.

8.   The executive director and the deputy executive directors shall be engaged as temporary agents of the Agency under point (a) of Article 2 of the Conditions of Employment.

1.   A consultative forum shall be established by the Agency to assist it by providing independent advice in fundamental rights matters. The executive director and the management board, in coordination with the fundamental rights officer, may consult the consultative forum on any matter related to fundamental rights.

2.   The Agency shall invite EASO, FRA, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and other relevant organisations to participate in the consultative forum. On the basis of a proposal from the fundamental rights officer that was made after consulting the executive director, the management board shall decide on the composition of the consultative forum and the terms of the transmission of information to the consultative forum. The consultative forum shall, after consulting the management board and the executive director, define its working methods and set up its work programme.

3.   The consultative forum shall be consulted on the further development and implementation of the fundamental rights strategy, on the functioning of the complaints mechanism, on codes of conduct and on the common core curricula. The Agency shall inform the consultative forum of the follow-up to its recommendations.

4.   The consultative forum shall prepare an annual report of its activities. That report shall be made publicly available.

5.   Without prejudice to the tasks of the fundamental rights officer, the consultative forum shall be provided with effective access in a timely and effective manner to all information concerning the respect for fundamental rights, including by carrying out on-the-spot visits to joint operations or rapid border interventions subject to the agreement of the host Member State or the third country, as applicable, to hotspot areas and to return operations and return interventions, including in third countries. Where the host Member State does not agree to an on-the-spot visit by the consultative forum to a joint operation or to a rapid border intervention carried out on its territory, it shall provide the Agency with duly justified reasons in writing.

1.   A fundamental rights officer shall be appointed by the management board on the basis of a list of three candidates, after consultation with the consultative forum. The fundamental rights officer shall have the necessary qualifications, expert knowledge and professional experience in the field of fundamental rights.

2.   The fundamental rights officer shall perform the following tasks:

The secretariat referred to in point (h) of the first subparagraph shall receive instructions directly from the consultative forum.

3.   For the purposes of point (j) of the first subparagraph of paragraph 2, the fundamental rights officer shall, in particular:

The executive director shall reply to the fundamental rights officer as to how concerns regarding possible violations of fundamental rights as referred to in point (e) of the first subparagraph have been addressed.

The fundamental rights officer may entrust any of the tasks provided for in points (a) to (i) and (k) of the first subparagraph of paragraph 2 to one of the fundamental rights monitors.

4.   The management board shall lay down special rules applicable to the fundamental rights officer in order to guarantee that the fundamental rights officer and his or her staff are independent in the performance of their duties. The fundamental rights officer shall report directly to the management board and shall cooperate with the consultative forum. The management board shall ensure that action is taken with regard to recommendations of the fundamental rights officer. In addition, the fundamental rights officer shall publish annual reports on his or her activities and on the extent to which the activities of the Agency respect fundamental rights. Those reports shall include information on the complaints mechanism and the implementation of the fundamental rights strategy.