Frontex

In 2004, the European Council of Ministers decided to establish an agency for the surveillance of Europe’s external borders. This agency is called Frontex. The name is derived from frontières extérieures (French for external borders).

Frontex tasks

Frontex strengthens European border checks by coordinating combined operations on land, at sea and in the air. These operations are executed in addition to the border checks carried out by the individual European countries themselves.