EU proposes giving Frontex border agency new major powers

The proposed legislation gives Frontex more resources to act beyond EU borders and support non-EU countries in returning migrants to their countries of origin. This comes as EU member states increasingly focus on returns, noting that too many people asked to leave the bloc remain.

The new role for Frontex follows the humanitarian crisis in Ceuta this summer, which some EU member states cited as evidence that the bloc needed to do more to prevent people from entering the EU. Italy, for instance, implemented temporary border controls on travel from Spain.

Expanded capabilities

The plan would give Frontex the power to deport migrants from non-EU countries, such as a Bangladeshi national from Libya. It envisions gradually expanding Frontex's standing corps to 30,000 officers by creating a new "European border and return reserve" of 17,000 officers within the next 15 years.

Criticism from rights groups

The proposal includes creating a new EU Return Coordination Center within Frontex and expanding its role across the entire deportation process. It would also establish a new online monitoring center to track border-related developments on social media. However, the reform shrinks the scope of the agency's internal rights watchdog, with complaints to be referred to national authorities.

Rights groups have criticized the planned changes, arguing they risk undermining human protections at borders.