Overview
- The European Commission formally presented the reform package on Tuesday, proposing to recast Frontex as the EU's central operational agency for returns rather than a border-support body.
- The proposal would double Frontex's core staff over time and raise total capacity to 30,000 by 2041 while creating a 17,000-strong European Reserve for Border Control and Returns.
- The plan would let Frontex run a returns coordination centre to cover the full deportation process from early identification and counselling to implementation and reintegration assistance.
- New operational powers would allow Frontex to operate outside EU territory and to support deportations between third countries while adding a rapid-reaction unit and online monitoring to detect mass movements.
- The package seeks roughly €12 billion in the next long-term EU budget and now faces negotiation in the European Parliament and Council with NGOs warning of rights risks and legal challenges after past allegations of pushbacks.