The European Commission proposed a major expansion of the EU border agency Frontex on October 27, including a standing corps growing to 30,000 officers and a central role in returning migrants, drawing criticism from rights groups.
The European Commission proposed a major expansion of the powers of the European Union border agency Frontex on Tuesday, including giving it the capacity to act beyond EU territory. Commissioner for internal affairs and migration Magnus Brunner told reporters that Frontex would become the central EU actor on returns, able to act faster, with a quick reaction force that can deploy within 24 hours and spot risks early.
The plan envisages gradually expanding Frontex's standing corps to 30,000 officers by creating a new European border and return reserve of 17,000 officers, who would remain at the disposal of member states and could be deployed when needed. It would create a new EU Return Coordination Centre within Frontex and expand the agency's role across the entire deportation process, from voluntary return counselling to organising returns and reintegration support, and a new online monitoring centre to track border-related developments on social media. The agency's proposed budget would nearly double to almost €12 billion for 2028 to 2034, according to the Platform for Undocumented Migrants.
The Commission presented the overhaul after more than 72,000 people arrived in the Spanish enclave of Ceuta from Morocco in late July, most of whom later left, an episode several member states cited as evidence for stronger tools even though irregular arrivals overall have decreased. Member states have increasingly focused on returns, arguing that too many migrants ordered to leave the bloc ultimately remain.
This is a proposal, not a rule in force: the European Parliament and the Council must agree on it before anything changes, and no dates for that process have been given. The proposal would also narrow the scope of Frontex's internal rights watchdog, with complaints referred to national authorities to handle. Amnesty International said on October 28 that the reform expands the agency's powers to deport, enforce border control and operate beyond the EU without expanding its human rights obligations in turn, and called for it to be rejected outright, while Dutch MEP Tineke Strik said the Commission risks turning Frontex into a European version of ICE. Those are attributed criticisms, not findings about how the proposal would work in practice.
If adopted, Frontex could support returns of migrants to their countries of origin on behalf of non-EU countries and seek a larger role in return hubs in third countries, subject to agreements with those countries. Member states would remain primarily responsible for controlling their own external borders. The negotiations in Parliament and the Council are the next stage, and the final shape of the corps, the return centre and the oversight arrangements could still change there.