The NFPOC brings together, at a national level, all the flow of information related with all Frontex activities (joint operations, pilot projects, training, conferences, workshops, technical projects, etc.), being the link between Frontex and national authorities with the responsibility in the field of integrated management of the external border. It is also worth mentioning that is it the NFPOC competence to manage the national pools of human resources and the technical equipment as well by means of a system of its own.
With the entry into force of Regulation (EU) 2016/1624 of 14 September 2016, which has “reshaped” FRONTEX creating the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, the establishment of a scholarship for experts to meet new operational needs have been provided. In this regard, in addition to the EBCGT – European Border and Coast Guard Team, the general scholarship of experts intended to participate in FRONTEX joint operations, has now been established as RRP – Rapid Reaction Pool, a scholarship of rapid expert intervention, whose operatives may be placed at request of the agency within a period of 5 (five) days, and the RP – Return Pool, scholarship of experts aimed for the carry out of return operations carried out by FRONTEX. SEF inspectors will incorporate the three groups, allowing therefore a continuous and substantial support under the mentioned operational activity.
In addition, SEF has yet several staff in its board of employees in FRONTEX headquarters, in Warsaw, in its several aspects, with highlight for the inspector responsible for the joint operations unit of the agency, as well as for the elements placed in the several areas of EU cooperation with third-countries, FRONTEX situation centre, return-supporting unit, air border sector, maritime border sector, investigation and development of new technologies and legal affairs office.
According to the principle of solidarity between Member states, SEF has been participating in the effort of supporting refugees, prevention and fight against trafficking in human beings in Greece and Italy, since the beginning of the phenomenon, in particular by the participation in actions of FRONTEX and EASO (European Asylum Support Office) agencies.
According to the needs of FRONTEX, and under the operations related with the humanitarian crisis in the Mediterranean Sea and Aegean Sea, SEF has been systematically satisfying with the secondment of inspectors in supporting missions to local authorities, lifesaving, identification of victims of trafficking, identification of people in need of protection and asylum, and migrant identification and registration. SEF participates in screening missions of migrant smuggling and of detection of organised crime networks, with special emphasis to those dedicated to the exploitation of illegal immigration and trafficking in human beings, as well as document fraud.
Concerning the participation of human resources in FRONTEX operations, it is carried out based on a set of profiles previously defined based on operational needs.
SEF is the competent Portuguese authority for representing Portugal in the following profiles:
1. Debriefing Expert: with the task to interview someone who has crossed-over or tried to crossover the EU’s external border in an irregular way. Interviews are carried out with the aim to gather information for risk analysis purposes, which will be used for acknowledge the operational situation and facilitate decisions to be made by Member-States authorities, as well as other operational or analytical purposes.
2. Screening Expert: with the task to interview and establish the presumption of nationality of someone who has crossed-over or tried to crossover the EU’s external border in an irregular way, for registration of that person according to the national proceedings and/or returning to his/her country of origin or other country of acceptance.
3. Interview Expert: with the task to interview someone after the border control in order to gather information for risk analysis purposes.
4. Second-Line Officer: with the task to carry out second-line control in checkpoints and provide support to the elements responsible for the first-line control.
5. First-Line Officer: with the task to carry out first-line control in checkpoints.
6. Advanced-Level Document Officer: with the task to carry out document expertise, that is, thorough examinations to a great persity of travel documents or related.
Similarly, SEF is the competent national authority for the carry out of functions related with the return of third-country nationals in an irregular situation in the territory of a Member-State (Return Specialists) and carry out escort functions in returning third-country nationals.
Moreover, SEF is empowered to move forward to other profiles, participating regularly, for example, as Frontex Support Officer Experts with supporting tasks to Frontex in implementing effectively their operational activities.