Brussels wants to give Frontex more powers and extend Eurosur to third countries. A first concrete proposal is due on 28 October, with a stronger standing reserve, a “Quick Reaction Force” and a bigger role for Frontex in deportations.

The European Commission wants to expand migration defence at the external borders and speed up the response to larger refugee movements. On Tuesday, it presented an action plan with five priorities in Brussels: it provides for additional powers for the EU border agency Frontex, stronger surveillance of the external borders, tougher action against smuggling networks, an expansion of “returns” and, in addition, closer cooperation with third countries.

The Commission cites the situation in the Spanish exclave of Ceuta in North Africa, among other things, as the reason for the initiative. There, numerous people arrived at the EU’s external border within a short period of time in the summer. The Union is also facing corresponding challenges at its eastern external borders and in the Mediterranean region – presumably a reference to mass border crossings from Turkey in 2020 and from Belarus from 2021, which were facilitated by the rulers there.

However, in its announcement of the action plan, the Commission itself points to the lowest numbers of irregular border crossings since 2021.

Frontex is building up a special unit

The EU plan mainly concerns Frontex: the agency is to have an expanded mandate in future and step up its support for member states and “partner countries”. To this end, the Commission plans, as things stand, to present a new proposal for a regulation on 28 October, which will then be discussed by the Council and Parliament.

In particular, a reinforced “Standing Corps” is planned. Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced two years ago that this Frontex-owned border force, operating without the involvement of member states, would be tripled to 30,000 officers. Within its framework, Frontex is to build up a special unit that can move personnel and equipment to external borders at short notice. The border agency has already begun preparations for such a “Quick Reaction Force”.

In addition, according to the plan, Frontex is to play a larger role in voluntary “returns” and those carried out with police coercion. The mandate extension envisaged by the Commission is also likely to include permission for deportations from a third country. So far, the new “Return Centre”, headed by a German, may only carry out measures in Schengen states.

With the amended regulation, Frontex would then be allowed, for example, to deport people from so-called border procedures at the EU’s external borders to supposedly “safe third countries”, or to take people against their will to “return centres” in far-away countries in Africa, where their asylum applications would then be processed. With the help of Frontex, asylum procedures are also to be digitalised further; the agency has commissioned two major app developments for this purpose.

Third countries to be connected to Eurosur

In addition, the Commission announces a new European crisis response framework. It is intended to apply in particular when large migration movements are deliberately triggered or used as a political means of pressure. Affected EU countries could then request the “Quick Reaction Force” from Frontex. At the request of a member state, the EU Civil Protection Mechanism is also to be able to provide support.

Another focus of the action plan is the surveillance of the external borders and the early detection of possible crises. The European Border Surveillance System Eurosur is to play a larger role in this. Member states are to transmit relevant information to Eurosur promptly and report developments with possible effects on the external borders without delay.

The Commission also wants to intensify cooperation with third countries on surveillance, information exchange and risk assessment. To this end, Eurosur coordination centres are also to be set up in partner countries in order to make information from the areas beyond the EU’s external borders available earlier. The Commission probably has countries such as Tunisia and Libya in mind, whose maritime control centres could be connected to EU border surveillance. The Eurosur Regulation would also have to be amended for these plans, which have been circulating for over a decade.

Frontex to monitor the internet

The Commission also proposes extending Frontex’s mandate to the monitoring of social media. This is intended to give the agency a better situational picture and enable it to support the operational measures of border management. Years ago, Frontex had begun analysing the internet on its own initiative, disregarding data protection rules in the process. Following a review by the European Data Protection Supervisor, the agency eventually discontinued the project.

The spread of false information and deliberately misleading content on migration is also to be monitored more closely. To this end, the Commission plans, among other things, new procedures for cooperation with large online platforms, search engines and national authorities. Within the framework of “digital partnerships” with third countries, online content that could encourage irregular migration is also to be identified and deleted. The aim is to prevent scenarios like the mass border crossings in Ceuta in the summer.

The five-point plan for more European migration defence is to be presented on the 1st October at the meeting of EU interior ministers in Luxembourg. However, it is a political initiative whose adoption initially has no binding force. Implementation requires further proposals and decisions by the European institutions.

Published in German in „nd“.

Image: At an “industry day” for the technical expansion of Eurosur, Frontex also presented a robot in September. Third countries are now to be connected to the EU border surveillance system (Frontex).