In 2004, the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, known as Frontex, was set up. It is tasked with aiding EU member states with border control, specifically in the Schengen area, from its headquarters in Warsaw, Poland. However, in practice, this means stopping refugees and asylum seekers and has in the past meant operating with Libya and being accused of human rights violations.
In December 2022, Human Rights Watch said that aerial surveillance used by Frontex enabled the Libyan coastguard to intercept migrant boats. These migrants and asylum seekers faced systematic and widespread abuse when forcibly returned to Libya, making Frontex, and the EU, complicit in the abuse these people faced. The use of aerial surveillance to warn the Libyan state calls into question what the goal of Frontex is. Libya is not within the EU, so why did Frontex aid Libya in intercepting migrant boats?
As part of the Geneva Refugee Convention of 1951, people cannot be turned back before seeking asylum; when this is done it is called a pushback. This means that not only are Frontex and the EU complicit in forcing migrants, refugees and asylum seekers to face systemic abuse, but they are also breaking international law.
The NGO the Aegean Boat Report last year reported “a newly released Serious Incident Report by Frontex’ own Fundamental Rights Office, details a pushback performed in February by the Greek coast guard, assisted by Bulgarian Frontex, outside Lesvos.” Further, while Frontex has not actively performed these pushbacks, they have been in the area of Greek vessels performing them, or intercepting boats of refugees and handing them over to the Greek coastguard before leaving.
Despite these controversies, Frontex has continued to get increased funding. In 2005, they received €5 million for the year; by 2025, they received €1.124 billion for the year and have over 2,000 staff. The EU is set to expand Frontex in 2026, meaning these numbers are set to increase along with expanded patrols and a vague intention to reinforce and enhance border security.
The director of Frontex from 2015 to 2022, Fabrice Leggeri, is now an MEP for the party National Rally (formerly Front National), which was founded by Ordre Nouveau (New Order), a French neo-Nazi party. He has claimed to be determined to “combat the migratory overload” as well as to promote the far-right idea of the great replacement theory. The politics of Leggeri can be seen in how Frontex has approached EU border control and the denial to migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers of the right to apply for asylum. When the new director, Hans Leijtens, took over in 2023 he promised Frontex would change; however, as we have seen, this is not true. The issues within Frontex are systemic.
The attitude in the EU regarding migrants and refugees can be summed up in Josep Borrell’s words: “Europe is a garden. Most of the rest of the world is a jungle, and the jungle could invade the garden.” Human Rights Watch has also stated that “the EU border agency’s approach is designed not to rescue people in distress but to prevent them from reaching EU territory.” The EU is designed to allow capital and labour to move freely between member states, while denying access to those looking to escape war, political persecution, and state violence—only returning them to those conditions.
