The EU border agency aims to use space and stratosphere technology to automatically observe migration routes. However, this highly upgraded view from above also raises questions.
The European Border and Coast Guard Agency Frontex presents in a current report “Earth Observation for Border Management” the technological arsenal with which the EU’s external borders are to be monitored from space and the stratosphere in the future. It explains how satellites, drones and the sensors built into them can detect suspicious ships, migration routes, and even the smallest ground changes. The data converges in a “Copernicus Border Surveillance Service” (CBSS), which Frontex operates on behalf of the Commission. “Copernicus” is the name of the European Union’s space programme, consisting of individual observation satellites (“Sentinels”) and ground stations. It is part of the EUROSUR surveillance system, which Frontex put into operation for the EU’s land and sea borders in 2014.
According to Frontex, among the most important modern surveillance technologies are optical sensors with very high resolution, which can recognise details down to under one metre during the day – they can be mounted on aircraft or drones and detect people, vehicles, or small boats. For the large-scale observation of border areas, medium-resolution optical sensors on satellites are used. For all-weather and night surveillance, satellites or other flying systems have a Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) on board, which detects ships and terrain changes independently of clouds or darkness.
Furthermore, with hyperspectral sensors, authorities can recognise hidden objects or specific plant species, as each has a characteristic light reflection – i.e., its own spectral signature. Thermal sensors capture heat emissions via infrared to locate people, vehicles, or active ships even at night. In addition, there is the evaluation of transponder data (Automatic Identification System, AIS) for tracking cooperative ships, as well as by radio sensors that can detect ships without transponders or mobile phones on board based on electromagnetic emissions.
In addition to satellites, Frontex is particularly interested in High Altitude Platform Systems (HAPS) still under testing by various defence and aerospace companies, including solar sailplanes, stratospheric balloons, or airships. They are intended to provide long-duration observation at an altitude of around 20,000 metres and thus bridge the temporal gaps between satellite overflights. Specifically, HAPS could, for example, be used to monitor migration routes from Africa. However, a comprehensive and permanent use of HAPS systems over thousands of kilometres of border is difficult and expensive, as Frontex itself admits.
A dedicated chapter focuses on the surveillance of irregular migration – a core task of Frontex. At land borders, high-resolution optics and pattern recognition algorithms are intended to detect unauthorised border crossings. High-resolution optical images could also be used to identify and map unauthorised refugee camps, as is already done, for example, in monitoring the border with Morocco in Melilla.
According to Frontex, the data could not only be used for defence but also to support vulnerable groups by bringing humanitarian aid to the irregular settlements of refugees. Environmental data could also be used for forecasts of migration movements – for example, by analysing vegetation to predict refugee flows triggered by drought or crop failures.
In addition to direct observation technologies, Frontex is also developing virtual planning and simulation tools. One concept for this is a so-called “Digital Twin” for the EU’s external borders: a dynamic, computer-generated representation of real border regions, fed from Copernicus satellite data, terrain models, and other geoinformation. Border authorities can then simulate various scenarios in this virtual copy to optimise the deployment of personnel and technology.
The described technologies are part of a more comprehensive strategic blueprint that Frontex recently presented for European border surveillance – and which examines individual surveillance methods in even more detail. The goal is a kind of “real-time map” of all EU external borders, on which all member states can simultaneously recognise “threats” and initiate coordinated measures. The existing Copernicus Border Surveillance Service is to be embedded into this architecture.
The data collected from the air and space is also intended to trigger automated alerts for border patrols – for example, when an unknown ship appears near the coast or movements are noticed in remote border sections. Ethical and legal concerns regarding the automated defence mechanisms are therefore also discussed in the studies. The comprehensive surveillance could increase the risk of misuse and the persecution of vulnerable groups, it states. Frontex must ensure that the data is used “exclusively for the intended law enforcement purpose” and not for “indiscriminate surveillance”.
However, this exception from mass surveillance most likely means EU citizens only – because Frontex intends to get increasingly closer to people without a residence permit in Europe using the described technology.
Image: Crowds of people push towards the borders of an EU barely affected by climate change: Illsutration from the study “Earth Observation for Border Management” (Frontex).
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