Frontex with more powers, also outside the EU. Poland supports changes

What is crucial for us is that Frontex will be involved in organizing migrant returns to a much greater extent than currently, said Duszczyk. This is not only about returning migrants who have been refused asylum from European Union countries to third countries, but also about organizing such operations between non-EU countries.

The Commission also proposes monitoring publicly available content on the Internet and establishing a center for monitoring and responding to online threats. This meets Polish demands for better recognition of threats related to migration. The second important element is strengthening intelligence capabilities and monitoring threats in cyberspace. The point is to better detect attempts to organize illegal border crossings and use migration to destabilize the European Union, says Duszczyk.

Frontex is also to have significantly more resources. The Commission proposes to gradually increase the agency's own staff to 6,000 people and create a reserve of 17,000 national border service officers. Additionally, the agency will have 7,000 officers delegated by member states at its disposal. So this does not mean 30,000 new Frontex employees. The changes are to be introduced gradually until 2041. Duszczyk emphasizes that Frontex should remain an efficient and unbureaucratic agency. Responsibility for border protection will still rest with member states, but the agency would have a reserve of officers who could be quickly deployed to help other countries in a crisis.

The rapid reaction formation could provide support at the border even within 24 hours of a Member State reporting the need. As Duszczyk explains, it is crucial to maintain a model in which responsibility for border protection remains with states, and officers are directed to joint operations when such a need arises. Polish officers are already participating in Frontex activities in Lithuania and Latvia, helping to counteract illegal migration. In each case, such participation would require a request from the country concerned. Poland, for example, does not ask for support from Frontex on the border with Belarus. At the Polish border, additional support in terms of ongoing protection is not currently needed, says Duszczyk. However, it emphasizes the importance of developing intelligence capabilities and responding more effectively to threats.

For Poland, the reform means increasing the importance of Frontex, whose headquarters are in Warsaw. This means more funding for the agency: in the draft EU budget for 2028-2034, the Commission allocated EUR 11.8 billion for it, compared to almost EUR 6 billion in the current perspective.

However, non-governmental organizations have doubts about the control of operations conducted outside the EU and the respect for human rights outside the EU. Duszczyk argues that Poland can share its experience in combining border security with the protection of fundamental rights. The Commission also announces legal safeguards for Frontex's new activities, including the obligation to respect the principle of returning people to places where they risk persecution or torture.

The Commission's proposal will now be negotiated between Member States and later also with the European Parliament.