Plans to upgrade Frontex ‘will bolster’ Cyprus’ migrant return efforts, govt says

The European Commission’s plans to increase the size of its border force, Frontex, to a total of 30,000 officers and give the force a greater role in the return of irregular migrants across the European Union will serve to “bolster” Cyprus’ own efforts to return migrants to their country of origin, the migration deputy ministry has said. “The Republic of Cyprus’ returns programme will not be negatively affected. On the contrary, the strengthening of Frontex will bolster our own efforts regarding returns,” it told the Cyprus Mail. It added that “naturally, we are participating in discussions on increasing returns at the European level”, and that “participation in Frontex’s operational plans is determined based on the agency’s needs and the capabilities of the Republic of Cyprus”. Additionally, it pointed out that the Council of the EU and the European Parliament had reached an agreement on the bloc’s new regulation which sets the terms on migrant returns across the bloc in June, when Cyprus held the council’s rotating presidency, before giving its final green light to the regulation last month. Back in June, Migration Deputy Minister Nicholas Ioannides had said that the regulation “will speed up the return process and increase returns of persons who have no legal right to stay in the EU”, and stressed that the matter of migration is a “top priority” for the Cypriot government. That new regulation foresees the opening of “return hubs” in third countries, to which irregular migrants can be sent, provided that the member state in which they find themselves has an agreement with the third country and that the third country respects international human rights standards. It also allows member states to introduce special measures, including indefinite entry bans, for irregular migrants who are deemed to pose security risks, and provides for the mutual recognition of return decisions across member states. Commission plans to hire 17,000 new Frontex officers The commission’s plans foresee the creation of a new “European border and return reserve” of 17,000 officers, bringing the total number of Frontex officers employed across the bloc to 30,000. It also plans to acquire “state-of-the-art equipment and technology”, including “AI-enabled tools” to facilitate its operations, which will be coupled with the operation of a dedicated “return coordination centre” which, it said, will “collect and analyse operational information” from across the bloc and “support planning and coordination”. “Frontex’s support will cover the full spectrum of the return process, from early identification and voluntary return counselling to carrying out return operations and providing reintegration assistance,” the commission said. Additionally, it plans to “digitalise” migrant return procedures, saying that “the aim is to modernise the handling of return cases, simplify and speed up administrative procedures through digitalisation, reduce administrative burden, and improve data collection and sharing”. Of these plans, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that “Europe will always stand up for the protection of its borders” and that “Europe decides who comes to our Union and under what circumstances”. “This is why today we propose to strengthen Frontex. So, it can support member states whenever and wherever needed, including on returns, with the mandate and capabilities that this new reality demands,” she said.