The European Union is preparing to expand the powers of its border agency, Frontex, allowing it to help return and deport irregular migrants from one non-EU country to another as Brussels seeks to extend its migration policies beyond the bloc’s borders.
The proposed reform is expected to be presented by the European Commission on Tuesday and could prompt criticism from human rights organizations concerned about safeguards and accountability in deportation operations.
According to EU officials cited by Euronews, Frontex currently assists national authorities in returning migrants from EU member states to their countries of origin, while also supporting border surveillance and patrols along the bloc’s external borders.
Under the proposed changes, the Warsaw-based agency would also be able to support authorities in non-EU countries, including North African governments, in returning migrants from Central African countries to their places of origin before they attempt to reach Europe.
“The more people you return before they reach Europe, the fewer you will have to return after they arrive,” one European official told Euronews.
Frontex could operate in return centers outside the EU
The reform would also allow Frontex to participate in deportations from so-called return centers that EU member states are now permitted to establish in third countries under recently adopted legislation.
Five European governments are negotiating the creation of the first such center, which is expected to begin operating in 2027.
These facilities would accommodate migrants whose asylum applications have been rejected or who no longer have the legal right to remain in the EU. They would subsequently be returned to their countries of origin.
Greater Frontex involvement could help coordinate the final transfers, extending the agency’s role beyond traditional border management and into deportation operations conducted outside EU territory.
Josephine Solanki, a researcher at the Amsterdam-based Transnational Institute, said the agency was increasingly becoming a deportation body operating far beyond the EU’s immediate borders, rather than simply an organization supporting member states with border control.
Human rights groups raise concerns
Non-governmental organizations and civil society groups are calling for stronger oversight and accountability mechanisms to accompany any expansion of Frontex’s mandate.
They argue that effective safeguards are necessary to ensure that migrants’ fundamental rights are respected during operations conducted in cooperation with countries outside the EU.
Frontex has previously faced scrutiny over alleged rights violations during operations within Europe, raising questions about how its activities would be monitored in third countries.
Any cooperation with a non-EU country would require a specific agreement with the state concerned. Such arrangements, known as status agreements, already exist with several partner countries, including Albania, Serbia and North Macedonia.
These agreements allow Frontex personnel to carry out certain tasks, participate in joint operations and support rapid border interventions on the territory of partner countries.
The EU is also negotiating an agreement with Senegal. A Frontex liaison officer covering Senegal, Mauritania and Gambia was appointed in 2023 under informal cooperation arrangements.
New rapid-response force and online monitoring unit
The proposed reform would also establish a rapid-response force to deal with sudden, large-scale arrivals of irregular migrants.
In addition, a new online monitoring unit would be tasked with monitoring social media to help anticipate and prevent mass movements of migrants.
The measures are intended to help the EU respond to situations such as the reported mass border crossing in Ceuta, the Spanish enclave in North Africa, where around 90,000 migrants crossed from Morocco in July of the previous year, according to Euronews.
The reform is expected to be presented by European Commission Executive Vice-President for Technological Sovereignty, Security and Democracy Henna Virkkunen and Commissioner for Internal Affairs and Migration Magnus Brunner following the Commission’s weekly meeting on Tuesday.
Frontex set for a major budget increase
The EU’s next seven-year budget is expected to allocate €12 billion to Frontex, double the agency’s previous funding.
The proposed increase would strengthen its operational capacity as the bloc seeks to tighten border controls and expand the enforcement of return policies beyond its territory.
If adopted, the changes would mark a further shift in the EU’s migration strategy toward cooperation with non-EU countries to intercept, process and return migrants before and after they attempt to reach Europe.
The extent of Frontex’s new responsibilities, however, will depend on the final legislation, the agreements concluded with partner countries and the safeguards established to protect migrants’ rights.
