EU proposes giving Frontex border agency new major powers

The European Commission on Tuesday unveiled a new proposal to beef up the powers of the EU border agency in order to empower it to support the return of irregular migrants.

The proposed legislation gives the agency, called Frontex, more resources to act beyond EU territory.

The plan would give the agency the power to support non-EU countries to return migrants to their countries of origin.

The proposal comes as EU member states increasingly focus on returns, saying too many people who are asked to leave the bloc remain.

The new role for Frontex comes after the humanitarian crisis in Ceuta this summer.

The tragedy in the Spanish exclave was seized upon by some EU member states as an example of where the EU could do more to block people from reaching the EU.

Italy, for example, placed some temporary border controls on travel from Spain.

Spain's prime minister at the time criticized several EU member states for their "selfish" response to the influx of migrants to Ceuta.

"Today we propose that Frontex becomes the central EU actor on returns," Magnus Brunner, commissioner for internal affairs and migration, told reporters.

"It will be able to act faster, with a quick reaction force that can deploy within 24 hours and spot risks early, before an event becomes a crisis," Brunner added.

The ability to deport migrants from non-EU countries means that Frontex could, for instance, deport a Bangladeshi national from Libya, where many migrants start the final leg of their journey into the bloc.

The plan envisages gradually expanding Frontex's standing corps to 30,000 officers by creating a new "European border and return reserve" of 17,000 officers within the next 15 years.

Those officers would remain at the disposal of member states and could be deployed when needed, the commission said in a statement.

The proposal would also create a new EU Return Coordination Center within Frontex and expand the agency's role across the entire deportation process.

It would also include a new online monitoring center to track border-related developments on social media and support action against content linked to border security risks.

Frontex has been responsible for guarding the external borders of the EU as well as ensuring the rights of new arrivals.

It has been criticized for its lack of accountability in the past.

The planned reform shrinks the scope of the agency's internal rights watchdog, with complaints to be referred to national authorities.

"The Commission is pandering to populism and the far right on migration," said Tineke Strik, a Dutch MEP from the Greens/EFA group.

"We need a human rights-based approach to border management and Frontex plays a key role. But instead the Commission risks turning Frontex into a European version of ICE," she said.