Agents from Frontex, the European Union Border and Coast Guard Agency, will be deployed across Belgium to aid local police officers at points of entry into the country.
A new bill, proposed by Justice Minister Paul Van Tigchelt and Home Affairs Minister Annelies Verlinden at the beginning of April and passed by the Belgian Federal Government 2 May, allows for up to 100 Frontex agents to be deployed at airports, seaports and the Eurostar terminal at Brussels Midi train station. According to the bill, the European border agents will have the authority to make arrests as well as refuse entry to migrants, however, they can only act in the presence of a Belgian Federal police officer.
Although the deployment of Frontex officers is meant to support and complement the work of Belgian police, civil society organisations, including Amnesty International, have raised concerns over the agency’s history. They are worried the wording of the bill is not clear enough and could leave room for abuse and human rights violations. Specifically, the vague wording could allow for Frontex agents to make arrets anywhere on Belgian territory, not just at points of entry into the country, and even allow them to act in the absence of national police.
“For us, the mandatory presence of a police officer is an absolute necessity. But the law has vague wording which leaves space for Frontex agents to act alone”, Thomas Willekens of Vluchtelingenwerk Vlaanderen (Refugeework Flanders) told The Brussels Times. Moreover, “The next government could decide to make a U-turn here and instead expand the deployment to the whole territory, allowing Frontex agents to make arrests without a police officer present. This current law gives too much leeway to the next government, despite knowing that Frontex does not have too good a track record.”
In February, human rights organisation 11.11.11. published a report showing that Frontex was responsible for at least 346,004 illegal pushbacks in 2023, an average of 947 per day. Pushbacks, when migrants are turned away from a country’s border before they have the chance to apply for protection, are illegal under European and international law. The European Anti-Fraud Office has confirmed these findings, but no action has yet been taken against Frontex.
In response to the criticism, the government has said a Royal Decree will accompany the bill to more precisely define what powers the Frontex agents will have in Belgium and under which conditions they can exercise those powers.
