# Regulation (EU) 2019/1896 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 November 2019 on the European Border and Coast Guard and repealing Regulations (EU) No 1052/2013 and (EU) 2016/1624, Article 82: Tasks and powers of the members of the teams

Extent: E+W+S+N.I.

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.

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Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/eur/2019/1896/article/82 (the official version)
Page: https://openlegislation.uk/eu-regulation-2019-1896/article-82
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives.

