EU Commission proposes stronger Frontex with 30,000 agents and social media monitoring

The European Commission proposed a plan on Tuesday to strengthen the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, Frontex, by gradually increasing its permanent corps to 30,000 agents. The agency would become the main European actor in return operations for migrants without the right to stay in the bloc.

The proposal includes a “European Border and Return Reserve” of 17,000 agents who can be deployed to support member states when needed. It also foresees a “Rapid Reaction Force” to respond to crises at external borders.

“Europe will always defend the protection of its borders. Europe decides who enters our Union and under what circumstances.”

A new online surveillance center would detect potential threats by analyzing publicly available social media content, similar to what happened in Ceuta. The center would monitor public posts to identify migrant movements and flag illegal content linked to border security risks.

The plan does not provide for general access to users’ private messages, according to the Commission. Monitoring would focus on publicly accessible publications.

Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Europe will always defend the protection of its borders and that Europe decides who enters the Union and under what circumstances.

Irregular border crossings have fallen to less than half over the last two years, while the return rate has risen to more than 30 percent, according to the Commission. The proposals follow the Commission leader’s State of the Union address and the 2024-2029 guidelines to strengthen Frontex and accelerate returns.