A comparison of autonomy and accountability of Frontex before and after the adoption of EBCG Regulation (EU) 2016/1624

This thesis is based on the main research question: What are the changes regarding autonomy and accountability regimes before and after the adoption of the EBCG Regulation (EU) 2016/1624? The objective of the research question is to find out whether Frontex’ amount of autonomy and the agency’s accountability regime after the application of the EBCG Regulation (EU) 2016/1624 changed. Therefore, the design is a longitudinal comparative study of Frontex’ autonomy and accountability. The concepts of autonomy and accountability were operationalised using frameworks by Verhoest et al. (2004), as well as Biela and Papadopoulos (2014). Based on this the necessary EU Regulations and other documents and reports concerning the activities of Frontex were coded and analysed. It revealed that before the application of the EBCG Regulation (EU) 2016/1624 Frontex had a medium amount of autonomy, with an accountability regime that could only affect the autonomy to a small extent. The comparison to Frontex’ amount of autonomy and accountability regime after 2016 showed that the adoption of EBCG Regulation (EU) 2016/1624 did not generate any substantial change. Frontex still has a medium amount of autonomy, with a few enhancements and the accountability regimes effectiveness has only progressed slightly with no significant impact.