On 31 July, the European Commission launched a call for evidence, which runs until 11 September, as part of an impact assessment on the new rules for the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex), scheduled for the third quarter of 2026.
A public consultation was also launched on 21 August, which runs until 27 November. In July 2024, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen “committed in her political guidelines to strengthening Frontex by tripling the standing corps to 30,000 and equipping it with state-of-the-art technology for surveillance and situational awareness, along with its own equipment and personnel to ensure it can protect our borders in all circumstances with strong governance and the full respect of fundamental rights”, explains the Commission.
Improving search and rescue operations in the Mediterranean and a new common approach to returns are also high on the political agenda.
In 2023, the Commission and Member States had already identified shortcomings, such as the lack of clarity regarding certain Frontex tasks. “In particular, the rules governing Frontex’s cooperation with third countries are not suited to the diversity of third countries that it has to work with”. Frontex’s limited effectiveness in the area of returns was also pointed out, as Frontex is not authorised to support return operations from third countries to other third countries, which limits its ability to effectively support EU migration management.
The objective of any future initiative “could include proposing legislative measure to improve the rules on: the scope of activities in third countries under status agreements, working arrangements and/or on ad hoc activities outside of these instruments; Frontex’s tasks with respect to countering cross-border crime; processing operational personal data with respect to crime detection” or enabling a better response to hybrid threats.
The Commission could also propose new provisions “to involve Frontex in supporting Member States in the implementation of EU visa policy and return operations between third countries”.
Link to the call for evidence: https://aeur.eu/f/i48 (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)