The Commission proposes a five-point plan to strengthen the resilience and security of the EU’s external borders

The Commission is proposing a five-point plan to prevent, anticipate and respond to sudden, large-scale irregular arrivals. This plan will strengthen the resilience and security of the EU’s external borders.

The EU has a comprehensive and robust framework for managing migration, which has delivered clear results, with illegal border crossings at their lowest level since 2021. However, recent events have put the EU’s borders to the test, from its eastern borders to the Mediterranean coast. The crisis in Ceuta this summer highlighted how quickly mass and unexpected arrivals can occur at the EU’s external borders and lead to emergency situations.  

As President von der Leyenemphasised in her State of the Union address, this summer’s events demonstrate that our tools must evolve, particularly for emergency situations.

These situations threaten our common security and unity, and result in an unacceptable loss of life. The protection of the EU’s external borders is a shared European responsibility. A common European response, joint action and solidarity are essential.

In response to the events in Ceuta, President von der Leyen has set out five key areas to guide the EU’s action. Building on the European Asylum and Migration Strategy of January 2026, the Commission is now setting out the way forward in these five areas with key actions for the various stakeholders, expanding existing tools and frameworks and creating new ones where necessary:  

1. Increasing cooperation with partner countries to prevent irregular migration.

Greater cooperation with partner countries, including on surveillance, early warning and information sharing, is essential to reducing irregular migration. Priority areas include:

• Addressing the root causes of irregular migration with partner countries, creating meaningful opportunities for people in their countries of origin through a new Mediterranean initiative on training and employment for young people, and establishing new liaison offices to promote legal and safe mobility to the EU;
• A robust crisis management dimension in new and existing partnerships, with effective early warning mechanisms and protocols;
• Closer cooperation between Frontex, Europol and Eurojust and partner countries, to improve the exchange of information, risk and threat analysis, and intelligence on migration trends and routes;
• DevelopingEuropean BorderSurveillance System (EUROSUR) coordination centres with partner countries to strengthen the exchange of intelligence and risk assessment prior to border crossing.

2. Strengthening the EU’s external borders

Whilst the protection of the EU’s external borders is primarily the responsibility of the Member States, the EU will step up its support to deter and respond to future emergencies or crises, including through:

• Working on a new European Emergency Response Framework to safeguard the security of the EU’s borders at all times, particularly in scenarios where mass movements are planned and used as weapons, as announced by President von der Leyen in her State of the Union address;
• A Commission proposal to strengthen Frontex’s mandate, including a reinforced Standing Corps for the immediate deployment of staff and equipment, a greater role in returns, closer cooperation with partner countries, and a robust capacity to monitor the external border and pre-border areas.
• Specific support for Member States to strengthen vulnerable sections of the EU’s external borders.
• Provision of assistance through the Union Civil Protection Mechanism, at the request of Member States.

3. Improvement of surveillance, situational awareness and early warning systems.

To prevent future crises and improve surveillance and situational awareness, the plan sets out the following key actions:

• Proposing to strengthen Frontex’smandate so that it can monitor social media in order to gain a better situational awareness and provide greater operational support in the context of external border management;
• Member States must provide timely and relevant information to the European BorderSurveillance System (EUROSUR) and immediately report any events affecting the EU’s external borders;
• To provide agile responses to emerging migration trends, evolving patterns and the rapid spread of misinformation and disinformation through the Global Alliance for Rapid Response Initiatives (GARRI);
• Develop an agile framework to make the most of the tools available under the Digital Services Act to respond to crises and incidents, with new protocols ensuring structured and immediate cooperation and the exchange of information with major online platforms, search engines and national authorities.
• New digital partnerships with partner countries to detect and respond to online content that encourages illegal migration;

4. Dismantling smuggling and migrant trafficking networks

To combat illegal migration effectively, it is necessary to dismantle the smuggling and human trafficking networks that underpin it. Efforts will be stepped up in the following areas:

• The Council should swiftly adopt the proposedsanctions regime, which will enable the EU to impose asset freezes and travel bans on migrant smugglers;
• Parliament must urgently agree on the negotiating position on the revised Facilitation Directive, which modernises the EU’s framework against smuggling, followed by swift interinstitutional negotiations; the co-legislators must step up interinstitutional negotiations on the new Europol mandate;
• Strengthen cooperation with online platforms, including within the framework of the EU Internet Forum, as well as with financial institutions and digital payment service providers, to ensure they can detect online people-smuggling activities and assist Member States in identifying, tracing and detecting illicit financial flows;
• Further strengthen Europol’s European Centre against the Smuggling of Migrants.

5. Strengthened returns

Effective migration management depends on a common EU system for rapid returns and on partner countries’ capacity to manage returns themselves. To strengthen this, the following is required:

• Improving cooperation with third countries on readmission, using all available tools, instruments and policies to foster better cooperation, including trade, development cooperation and visas;
• Strengthening the role of Frontex in the return of third-country nationals who do not have the right to remain in the EU;
• Member States must also implement the new Return Regulation and the return procedure at the border, and make greater use of the support provided by Frontex, which is already available for return, readmission and reintegration;
• Increase the efficiency of returns and reduce the administrative burden by digitising procedures.

Next steps

The five-point plan will be presented to the Member States at the Justice and Home Affairs Council to be held on 1 and 2 October 2026. Addressing the challenges identified requires joint action by the Member States, the Justice and Home Affairs bodies and the Commission, and this five-point plan will be taken forward in a coordinated manner by all of them.

 

More information: European Commission