Frontex Takes Over Responsibility for EU Deportations

Frontex, the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, has recently decided to take on a more leading role in deportations and has been investigating the prospect of managing various operations that were previously reserved by each country's national authorities.

Frontex has already initiated a pilot phase of structured return operations, with the goal of reducing the strain on Member States dealing with significant numbers of illegal migrants who must be returned to their home countries.

According to SchengenVisaInfo.com, the experimental phase included three deportation flights in 2022 and 2023, and 143 persons were deported to Albania, Nigeria, and Bangladesh via these flights.

According to Statewatch, a presentation made by Frontex in April suggests that at least four Frontex-organized repatriation operations will take place in 2023. Furthermore, the lectures emphasised that deportations would be made to new places as well.

Frontex's tasks as part of its actions include the following:

• The initiative, the destination, and the date

• Flight plan, aircraft chartering

• Communication with third nations is handled by the EEAS and local Frontex liaisons.

• Sending out a passenger list

According to Statewatch, one of the most significant changes is that Frontex will now serve as an organiser rather than a facilitator.

Nonetheless, Frontex's presentation emphasises that Member States would continue to be accountable for "use of force," but it is unclear how this will function.

“The presentation also highlights the support offered by Frontex for deportations via scheduled flights, the agency’s growing role in “reintegration” programmes, and the “Reference model for Return Case Management System,” a technical specification that aims to establish a uniform digital deportation management architecture across the EU,” Statewatch wrote.

Frontex continually assists EU Member States and Schengen Area countries in managing their external borders and combating cross-border crime.

Frontex recently disclosed the main irregular migrant routes and origin nations. According to Frontex, there are six primary migratory routes used by migrants to enter the EU illegally, with the Central Mediterranean route seeing the largest traffic.

According to Frontex data, a total of 27,651 irregular border crossings were documented in the Central Mediterranean route between January and March of this year, the most of any route.

The main countries of origin for Central Mediterranean arrivals are Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea, Pakistan, and Bangladesh.

Furthermore, Frontex indicated that the Western Balkan route had the highest number of unauthorised border crossings. There were 14,858 illegal border crossings on the Western Balkan route in the first three months of this year, with the leading nationalities being Syrians, Afghans, and Turks.

By fLEXI tEAM