European Centre for Counterterrorism and Intelligence Studies, Germany & Netherlands – ECCI
SOTEU: Frontex primed for power boost
euractiv ـ The border agency is coming to the fore as the EU cracks down on migration The European Commission is preparing to propose a review of the rules governing Frontex in October, in a move that could significantly expand its powers and its role in Europe’s increasingly restrictive migration policy.
Under the Commission’s plans, the European border agency is likely to get a stronger mandate to cooperate with non-EU countries, a bigger role in returns operations and expanded powers to combat cross-border crime and hybrid threats.
The proposal, the contents of which will be trailed during Ursula von der Leyen’s much-awaited State of the European Union (SOTEU) speech next Wednesday, according to EU officials, is expected to include plans to triple the agency’s standing corps to 30,000 officers.
Created in 2004 to help manage mounting pressures at the EU’s external borders, Frontex has since grown rapidly in budget, personnel, and political visibility.
It has also sparked numerous controversies, including allegations of fundamental rights violations and forced returns, which culminated in 2022 with the resignation of its then-executive director, Fabrice Leggeri, now an MEP representing Marine Le Pen’s National Rally.
The review comes in the aftermath of the migration crisis in Ceuta, the Spanish enclave on Morocco’s northern coast, where tens of thousands of migrants crossed into the territory in July.
The episode reignited debate in Brussels and EU capitals over the bloc’s ability to manage its external borders, and the role Frontex should play in responding to migration surges.
EU countries have already been tightening the bloc’s migration system, with a new returns framework opening the door to “return hubs” in third countries and the Pact on Migration and Asylum, which entered into application in June.
Returns and fighting hybrid threats
The agency is also supposed to take on more power in order to have a role in deportations.
Euractiv first revealed that national capitals were considering giving Frontex a role in carrying out returns from one non-European territory to other countries outside the EU, a power the agency’s current legal framework does not provide for, and would require a new legal basis.
Another area where Frontex could expand its role is in deals with countries outside the EU, allowing for more flexible forms of international agreements, including deployments without the need to negotiate a full-fledged status agreement.
According to diplomats Euractiv spoke to, most EU countries would back this move.
The agency is also considering expanding its mandate to include monitoring disinformation circulating on social media, according to several EU officials briefed on the matter.
The changes would mark a further evolution of Frontex, which has grown from a relatively limited border-coordination agency into one of the EU’s most powerful bodies on migration and border control.
The Commission’s review could also give Frontex new responsibilities in tackling hybrid threats, including monitoring airspace over land borders and helping counter the use of drones.
However, not all capitals are comfortable with giving Frontex a role in defence-related matters, stressing that security and defence remain the responsibility of national governments.
More boots on the ground
Tripling the agency’s standing corps was one of the Commission’s original wishes for the review, an idea first floated in von der Leyen’s 2024-2028 political priorities.
But EU diplomats and officials Euractiv spoke to remain sceptical that the target is realistic, citing recruitment difficulties and the challenge of building a gender- and geographically balanced corps.
The issue of the size of the standing corps returned to the political spotlight during the Ceuta crisis. In August, European People’s Party (EPP) leader Manfred Weber called for the agency to have a 50,000-strong border force.
Frontex’s standing corps is already supposed to reach 10,000 by 2027, under a target set in the agency’s 2019 review.
EU countries began discussing the future of Frontex last autumn, with several governments raising concerns about the Commission’s plans to expand the agency’s standing corps, according to a summary of the Council discussions seen by Euractiv.
One idea is to revive a Frontex standing corps category that has fallen into disuse, made up of national officials who would remain in their home services but receive training at the EU agency and be available for deployment in “extraordinary situations”.
A political prize
According to Hertie University professor Violeta Moreno-Lax, the reform is largely driven by the implementation of the new Migration and Asylum Pact, which will require a stronger Frontex role in screening and returns.
Moreno-Lax argued that the reform is also politically attractive, as border control and tackling irregular migration remain high on the agenda amid Europe’s increasingly right-leaning political landscape.
“There are very critical governance flaws, particularly in terms of accountability and legal remedies that have never been addressed,” Moreno-Lax said, pointing to Frontex’s troubled history and the criticism the agency has faced over fundamental rights and accountability. The question now is whether the new review will address those longstanding concerns.
In the European Parliament, several parliamentary officials said the file is seen as a key prize that von der Leyen’s EPP group is seeking to secure in order to lead the negotiations.
Since the start of the mandate, sensitive migration legislation has generally secured approval only with majorities stretching from the far right to the centre-right, and the Frontex review is likely to follow the same pattern.
The review is currently scheduled for presentation at the end of October, alongside two other migration files, according to the Commission’s latest agenda, although the timing remains subject to change.
The European Commission did not reply to Euractiv‘s request for comment.
European Centre for Counterterrorism and Intelligence Studies, Germany & Netherlands – ECCI
