by Fabrice Leggeri, Executive Director of the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, Warsaw
Over the last five years Frontex has become one of the most dynamic EU agencies. The scale and speed of Frontex growth has no precedent. When the agency started to operate in 2005, its budget was of just €6m with about 30 staff members. This year, the budget is estimated at €543m with 1,350 employees. Such an evolution was marked by two successive amendments of its founding regulation.
The “Europeanisation” of border management
In 2016, the agency was given more powers and was transformed into the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, dealing not only with border control, but also with border management, which entails greater responsibility for combating cross-border crime. Therewith Frontex became a structural and strategic partner with a larger presence in the Member States, making a significant step in furthering the “Europeanisation” of border management.
Among the noticeable changes, the agency has started conducting vulnerability assessments of the ability of each EU Member State to face challenges at their external borders. In emergency situations, Frontex can quickly deploy border and coast guard officers from the rapid reaction pool of at least 1,500 officers. Frontex has put in place a network of liaison officers in the individual countries. Finally, the agency received a mandate to conduct operations on the territory of non-EU countries and a greater role in returns.
The 2019 Regulation paved the way for the creation of the first European uniformed service. By 2027, Frontex will count on 10,000 border and coast guards to support member states and Schengen associated countries in border control and migration management. Among them will be 3,000 officers employed by Frontex and 7,000 officers seconded by the national authorities for short or long-term deployments.
European Border and Coast Guard standing corps
The standing corps, the operational arm of Frontex, for the first time includes officers who are working directly for the agency and wear dark blue European uniforms. They represent the whole European Union, not individual member states. This European formation is fundamentally changing Frontex and soon it will have more staff working in the field than in the headquarters. The number of new staff members that Frontex must employ in a span of just a few years is unprecedented. Despite all the challenges, by the end of this year, the agency will reach its ambitious goal of hiring 1,000 standing corps officers.
It is important to make sure and we take care of it, that the officers, who represent all of Europe, are properly trained and ready, both in terms of operational knowledge and from the fundamental rights perspective, before they are deployed.
So far, Frontex has recruited more than 600 officers of the European Border and Coast Guard standing corps. Half of them already work at the external borders of the European Union to assist the national authorities. The rest are undergoing an obligatory six-month training.
The deployed officers support the member states in border checks, screening and fingerprinting activities, conducting voluntary interviews to collect information about smuggling networks and detection of fraudulent documents or other type of organised crime. In the coming months, travellers will be seeing more and more of them at the borders.
Frontex makes EU borders more secure
Vulnerability assessments are another example of the strategic and sensitive nature of the new tasks entrusted to the agency. The first strategic risk analysis was delivered last year to EU institutions and member states with the intention of providing foresight on the future threats and challenges. The findings will be included in the strategic policy documents of the European Commission.
Operational capabilities: Frontex is gradually strengthening its situational awareness and its 24/7 monitoring capacity of EU external borders. It receives information from a wide array of sources and, increasingly, relies on its own border surveillance means – in particular, aerial surveillance. Last year alone, the agency conducted more than 1,000 surveillance flights. Moreover, border surveillance activities have been significantly reinforced over the last years thanks to Eurosur and its fusion services integrating capabilities from other EU programmes, such as Copernicus.
Deployment: The agency is increasing its presence in the Balkan countries. In May 2019, Frontex launched its first joint operation outside the EU in Albania, which was followed by two operations launched in Montenegro the following year and a second operation in Albania this year. In June, Frontex also has started an operation in Serbia. These would not have been possible without status agreements concluded by the EU with the Western Balkan countries.
Law enforcement: In recent years, the agency has continuously invested in strengthening the law enforcement dimension of its work and becoming a much more important partner for other EU and national law enforcement agencies. A more robust partnership with Europol has also been established based on new opportunities for operational cooperation.
European cooperation: European cooperation on coast guard functions is also being reinforced with the European Maritime Safety Agency and the European Fisheries Control Agency and a network of national coast guard experts. This type of cross-sector and cross-agency cooperation will help the agency to further develop the much-needed European dimension of coast guard functions.
Post-return activities: Another important and sensitive area of the agency’s work is return – the repatriation of people illegally staying in the EU. The decision of who should be returned lies solely in the hands of national authorities, but Frontex provides support in this field. In recent years, the agency has been expanding its support to member states in pre-return activities such as identification and documentation of migrants as well as digitalisation of national return case management. While specific charter flights for return operations are still needed, Frontex has also invested much in returning third country nationals on commercial flights and aided with voluntary returns. In the future, the agency will be involved in post-return activities.
The future of border management
Border management will undergo a profound transformation underpinned by a large digitalisation process. In cooperation with eu-LISA and national authorities, Frontex will establish the next generation of EU information systems for borders, migration and security.
The launch of the Entry Exit System, scheduled for next year, will be this first major milestone followed by the European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS), the new Schengen Information System, the new Visa Information System and also the new interoperability framework for EU information systems.
Frontex will play an important role in the implementation of ETIAS, a system for granting authorisation to travel into the EU from visa-free countries. When it comes into effect in 2022, Frontex will run the 24/7 Central Unit, where it will verify applications from travellers.
The stronger, more operationally active Frontex, relying on law and with Europe’s first uniformed enforcement service, is an essential actor to protect the EU’s external borders, shoulder-to-shoulder with national authorities. It brings the highest standards in border guarding everywhere its officers are deployed.
Over the last five years Frontex has become one of the most dynamic EU agencies. The scale and speed of Frontex growth has no precedent. When the agency started to operate in 2005, its budget was of just €6m with about 30 staff members. This year, the budget is estimated at €543m with 1,350 employees. Such an evolution was marked by two successive amendments of its founding regulation.
The “Europeanisation” of border management
In 2016, the agency was given more powers and was transformed into the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, dealing not only with border control, but also with border management, which entails greater responsibility for combating cross-border crime. Therewith Frontex became a structural and strategic partner with a larger presence in the Member States, making a significant step in furthering the “Europeanisation” of border management.
Among the noticeable changes, the agency has started conducting vulnerability assessments of the ability of each EU Member State to face challenges at their external borders. In emergency situations, Frontex can quickly deploy border and coast guard officers from the rapid reaction pool of at least 1,500 officers. Frontex has put in place a network of liaison officers in the individual countries. Finally, the agency received a mandate to conduct operations on the territory of non-EU countries and a greater role in returns.
The 2019 Regulation paved the way for the creation of the first European uniformed service. By 2027, Frontex will count on 10,000 border and coast guards to support member states and Schengen associated countries in border control and migration management. Among them will be 3,000 officers employed by Frontex and 7,000 officers seconded by the national authorities for short or long-term deployments.
European Border and Coast Guard standing corps
The standing corps, the operational arm of Frontex, for the first time includes officers who are working directly for the agency and wear dark blue European uniforms. They represent the whole European Union, not individual member states. This European formation is fundamentally changing Frontex and soon it will have more staff working in the field than in the headquarters. The number of new staff members that Frontex must employ in a span of just a few years is unprecedented. Despite all the challenges, by the end of this year, the agency will reach its ambitious goal of hiring 1,000 standing corps officers.
It is important to make sure and we take care of it, that the officers, who represent all of Europe, are properly trained and ready, both in terms of operational knowledge and from the fundamental rights perspective, before they are deployed.
So far, Frontex has recruited more than 600 officers of the European Border and Coast Guard standing corps. Half of them already work at the external borders of the European Union to assist the national authorities. The rest are undergoing an obligatory six-month training.
The deployed officers support the member states in border checks, screening and fingerprinting activities, conducting voluntary interviews to collect information about smuggling networks and detection of fraudulent documents or other type of organised crime. In the coming months, travellers will be seeing more and more of them at the borders.
Frontex makes EU borders more secure
Vulnerability assessments are another example of the strategic and sensitive nature of the new tasks entrusted to the agency. The first strategic risk analysis was delivered last year to EU institutions and member states with the intention of providing foresight on the future threats and challenges. The findings will be included in the strategic policy documents of the European Commission.
Operational capabilities: Frontex is gradually strengthening its situational awareness and its 24/7 monitoring capacity of EU external borders. It receives information from a wide array of sources and, increasingly, relies on its own border surveillance means – in particular, aerial surveillance. Last year alone, the agency conducted more than 1,000 surveillance flights. Moreover, border surveillance activities have been significantly reinforced over the last years thanks to Eurosur and its fusion services integrating capabilities from other EU programmes, such as Copernicus.
Deployment: The agency is increasing its presence in the Balkan countries. In May 2019, Frontex launched its first joint operation outside the EU in Albania, which was followed by two operations launched in Montenegro the following year and a second operation in Albania this year. In June, Frontex also has started an operation in Serbia. These would not have been possible without status agreements concluded by the EU with the Western Balkan countries.
Law enforcement: In recent years, the agency has continuously invested in strengthening the law enforcement dimension of its work and becoming a much more important partner for other EU and national law enforcement agencies. A more robust partnership with Europol has also been established based on new opportunities for operational cooperation.
European cooperation: European cooperation on coast guard functions is also being reinforced with the European Maritime Safety Agency and the European Fisheries Control Agency and a network of national coast guard experts. This type of cross-sector and cross-agency cooperation will help the agency to further develop the much-needed European dimension of coast guard functions.
Post-return activities: Another important and sensitive area of the agency’s work is return – the repatriation of people illegally staying in the EU. The decision of who should be returned lies solely in the hands of national authorities, but Frontex provides support in this field. In recent years, the agency has been expanding its support to member states in pre-return activities such as identification and documentation of migrants as well as digitalisation of national return case management. While specific charter flights for return operations are still needed, Frontex has also invested much in returning third country nationals on commercial flights and aided with voluntary returns. In the future, the agency will be involved in post-return activities.
The future of border management
Border management will undergo a profound transformation underpinned by a large digitalisation process. In cooperation with eu-LISA and national authorities, Frontex will establish the next generation of EU information systems for borders, migration and security.
The launch of the Entry Exit System, scheduled for next year, will be this first major milestone followed by the European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS), the new Schengen Information System, the new Visa Information System and also the new interoperability framework for EU information systems.
Frontex will play an important role in the implementation of ETIAS, a system for granting authorisation to travel into the EU from visa-free countries. When it comes into effect in 2022, Frontex will run the 24/7 Central Unit, where it will verify applications from travellers.
The stronger, more operationally active Frontex, relying on law and with Europe’s first uniformed enforcement service, is an essential actor to protect the EU’s external borders, shoulder-to-shoulder with national authorities. It brings the highest standards in border guarding everywhere its officers are deployed.