The European Commission is preparing to unveil a significant expansion of Frontex's mandate, giving the EU's border agency the authority to return irregular migrants from one non-EU country to another. The move, expected to be announced on Tuesday, would extend European migration policy well beyond the bloc's external borders, according to several EU officials who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Currently, Frontex assists national authorities in returning migrants from EU member states to their countries of origin and patrols the bloc's external frontiers. Under the proposed reforms, the Warsaw-based agency would also be able to support third-country governments—such as those in North Africa—in returning Central African citizens to their home countries before they 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.
Expanding operations beyond Europe
The new rules would also allow Frontex officials to participate in deportations from so-called return hubs, which a recently approved EU law permits member states to establish in third countries. Five EU governments are currently negotiating the creation of the first hub, expected to become operational in 2027. Migrants whose asylum applications have been rejected and who are hosted in these hubs would ultimately be returned to their countries of origin, with Frontex playing a key role in the final transfers.
“It's no longer only an agency supporting EU countries at their borders. [...] It's a deportation agency, increasingly operating far away from the actual border of the EU,” said Josephine Solanki, a researcher at the Amsterdam-based Transnational Institute, during a press briefing ahead of the reform.
The expansion is likely to provoke a backlash from civil society organisations, which have long criticised Frontex for its involvement in rights violations during operations within Europe. NGOs are demanding that any broadening of the agency's mandate be accompanied by stronger oversight and accountability mechanisms to safeguard migrants' fundamental rights.
Cooperation agreements and rapid response
Any cooperation with a third country would require a specific agreement, similar to the “status agreements” Frontex already has with Albania, Serbia, and North Macedonia. These agreements allow Frontex officials to be deployed for joint operations and rapid border interventions on the territory of partner countries. The EU is currently negotiating such an agreement with Senegal, and a Frontex liaison officer for Senegal, whose mandate also covers Mauritania and Gambia, was appointed in 2023 under informal “working arrangements.”
The reform also introduces a rapid-response force to be deployed in the event of sudden, large-scale arrivals of irregular migrants, as well as an online surveillance unit tasked with monitoring social media to prevent large-scale movements. The aim is to avoid situations such as the mass entry into Ceuta last July, when around 90,000 migrants forced their way across the border between Morocco and the Spanish exclave. That incident highlighted the challenges of managing migration at Europe's southern periphery.
The proposed changes come as the EU continues to grapple with migration policy, balancing security concerns with humanitarian obligations. The Commission's Vice-President for Security, Henna Virkkunen, and Home Affairs Commissioner Magnus Brunner are expected to present the reform after the Commission's weekly College meeting on Tuesday.
Critics argue that the expansion could lead to a further externalisation of EU migration policy, shifting responsibility to third countries with weaker human rights protections. The recent rescue of 74 migrants in Ceuta underscores the ongoing pressures at the borders, while the blame game over riots in France and Italy shows how migration remains a politically charged issue across the continent.
As the EU moves forward with these reforms, the balance between effective migration management and the protection of fundamental rights will remain a contentious issue. The Commission's proposal is likely to spark intense debate in the European Parliament and among member states, with some governments pushing for even stronger measures while others call for greater safeguards.
