The European Commission will unveil a sweeping overhaul of EU border agency Frontex on Tuesday, 27 October, turning it into a fully fledged 'European return agency', according to two EU officials familiar with the proposal who were granted anonymity to discuss information not yet in the public domain, POLITICO reported.

Source: POLITICO via EuropeSays

The legislative proposal would revamp the Warsaw-based agency's mandate in three areas: strengthening its role in deportations, improving its ability to anticipate and respond to border crises, and boosting its operational capacity without poaching border guards from member countries. At its heart is a much more prominent role in returning people with no legal right to remain in the EU, including new powers to carry out return operations beyond the bloc's territory, including transfers between third countries, the officials said.

Source: POLITICO via EuropeSays

Euronews, citing several EU officials who spoke on condition of anonymity, reported the same direction: under the new rules Frontex would be able to support authorities in third countries, such as North African governments, in returning Central African citizens to their countries of origin before they even attempt to reach European shores. 'The more people you return before [they reach Europe], the less you have to return after,' an EU official told Euronews. Frontex officials currently assist national authorities in returning people from EU countries to their countries of origin, and patrol the bloc's external borders and coastlines.

Source: Euronews

Frontex officers would also be allowed to take part in deportations from return hubs, which a recently approved EU law allows member countries to establish in third countries for people whose asylum applications or right to remain have been rejected. Five EU governments are currently negotiating the creation of the first hub, which is expected to become operational in 2027, Euronews reported. POLITICO noted the push comes months after EU lawmakers approved a new 'return regulation' aimed at accelerating deportations and allowing return hubs outside the EU, and that in June the leaders of 19 EU countries urged the Commission to support such hubs, including through EU funding.

Source: Euronews; POLITICO via EuropeSays

Beyond deportations, the Commission also wants Frontex to be able to intervene in border emergencies within 24 hours, according to the officials cited by POLITICO. The proposal is on the College of Commissioners' agenda for 27 October. It is a legislative proposal reported ahead of its formal unveiling, not yet an adopted law, and the officials describing it spoke anonymously because it had not been made public.

Source: POLITICO via EuropeSays