On 27 October 2026, the European Commission presented proposals to reinforce the mandate, operational capacity and resources of the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex). The proposed changes aim to strengthen the Agency’s support for Member States in managing the EU’s external borders, coordinating returns and responding to crisis situations. The Commission also proposed a separate Regulation to digitalise return, readmission and reintegration procedures. The proposals will now be examined by the European Parliament and the Council.

Frontex supported EU Member States in returning more than 33.000 people to non-EU countries during the first half of 2026. Around two-thirds of these returns were voluntary. Belgium ranked among the five Member States with the highest number of Frontex-supported returns.

Eight officers from the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex) have started work at Brussels Airport to assist in return operations. They will operate alongside Belgian police to increase the number of returns. Their deployment follows the adoption of national legislation and a Royal Decree defining their powers and operational zones.

Op voorstel van minister van Binnenlandse Zaken Annelies Verlinden heeft de Raad van Ministers een voorontwerp van wet goedgekeurd waarin de bevoegdheden van de medewerkers van de Europese grens- en kustwacht op nationaal grondgebied tijdens officiële missies worden vastgelegd. 

Today, the Commission is taking stock of the progress achieved and the work still needed in making the new European Border and Coast Guard Agency fully operational.