The recent threats and challenges at our external frontiers tested the European Border and Coast Guard community in 2022.
The war in Ukraine has transformed Europe and the way all of us see the Eastern borders, which until now have not experienced any events of this scale.
This has first changed with the hybrid aggression by Belarus and was soon followed by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine – which brought millions of refugees at the EU’s doorsteps and posed border management challenges for years to come. These may include a rise in trafficking in human beings, especially children, as well as a rise of smuggling in weapons and other illegal goods.
Why does Europe need Frontex today?
We are witnessing the highest number of illegal border crossings since 2016. We have seen how countries instrumentalise migration to achieve their political goals, and we have seen increasing violence at the borders.
With more than 2000 standing corps officers working at the external borders each month, Frontex can make a difference. We have the expertise, we have the people, we have the equipment and capacities to support countries for the benefit of the whole European Union and the Schengen area.
In this report, we outline the main activities and achievements of Frontex in 2022, including the agency’s swift response following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to assist Member States, as well EU’s neighbours, in helping millions of refugees seeking shelter from the war.
The report also outlines:
- the external dimension of Frontex’s work;
- operational response in 2022;
- selected operational results;
- return operations;
- development of fundamental rights office and measures taken to improve the functioning and the accountability of the agency.
In 2022, we took many steps to enhance Frontex as a workplace and as an organisation, and to meet stakeholders’ expectations for the European Union’s largest operational agency.
Read the full report here.