Recent scandals surrounding the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, Frontex, over accusations of pushbacks and opaque management have not led to a budget cut. On the contrary, within just two years the agency’s budget has climbed to 922 million euros for 2024, according to information Frontex provided in response to an official request from El Periódico de Catalunya, a publication of the same group that owns this newspaper.
In specific terms, data show that Frontex’s resources have grown markedly since 2022. That year the agency’s budget was 693 million euros; in 2023 it rose to 829 million, and this year it reached 922 million, marking a 33 percent increase compared with two years prior.
“The main areas of expenditure for operational activities relate to deployments of the Standing Corps, … for return and reintegration activities as well as heavy technical equipment supporting its activities in member states,” a spokesperson for the agency explained in a written note to this newspaper. “In addition, the agency always carries out various other activities in support of Member States,” the spokesperson added.
Internal tensions
The information comes after Frontex has recently been under scrutiny from organizations that assist migrants, especially in the Aegean Sea, at the Greece-Turkey border. This situation sparked a notable clash between the European Commission and the agency.
Indeed, 2022 was a particularly difficult year for Frontex. The period culminated in the resignation of the then-director Fabrice Leggeri, amid the scandal that also triggered scrutiny by OLAF, the European Anti-Fraud Office.
The episode resurfaced recently when the far-right French party led by Marine Le Pen, National Rally, announced plans to nominate Leggeri as a candidate for the upcoming European Parliament elections in June. Leggeri stated in an interview with Le Journal du Dimanche that they are intent on fighting what they describe as migratory immersion that Eurocrats do not deem a problem but rather a project.
Yes to search, no to rescue?
The controversy does not end there. A few weeks ago the European Ombudsman, Emily O’Reilly, criticized Frontex for its low level of proactive rescue efforts at sea. She also urged changes to EU rules to prevent the agency from becoming an accomplice in actions that violate fundamental rights and put lives at risk.
New Frontex Director Hans Leijtens responded firmly, insisting that the agency is not a search-and-rescue organization but the European border and coast guard. He noted that while the mandate includes search operations, Frontex does not have rescue as a formal duty, though it conducts searches as part of its tasks.