Ministers want to have Frontex agents carry out border checks in Brussels South

Today, the House is scheduled to vote on a bill that would authorize the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, Frontex, to carry out patrols in Belgium, but under the supervision of the federal police.

In this case, the borders of the Schengen zone would be controlled, including the airports and the coastline, but this also includes the Brussels-South train station, where international trains arrive.

“There is also an external border in Brussels-South and there the police carry out border checks for those entering Belgium. Frontex will be able to assist the Belgian police in carrying out these checks,” writes State Secretary for Asylum and Migration Nicole De Moor (CD&V) on X, who submitted the bill together with Minister of the Interior Annelies Verlinden (CD&V).

Until now, the border agency was limited to carrying out tasks at the outer borders of the Schengen area.

Actions Brussels South

The bill is part of a larger set of measures that were taken after the drug safety problem in and around South Station exploded last summer.

Several major police actions were carried out and a police station was planned to be built in the station building. But that will still have to wait. According to Verlinden’s spokesperson, preparations are going well The standard.

“The bill has been approved in committee and also by the Council of Ministers,” the Verlinden cabinet told BRUZZ. It will most likely be voted on on Thursday evening.

The bill effectively transposes a European regulation and gives Frontex agents the power to carry weapons and use coercion on Belgian territory when carrying out tasks such as border control, border surveillance and – more controversially – forced returns. This would happen under the supervision of federal police officers.

Criticism

The creation of the Frontex “permanent corps”, which will number up to a hundred agents, could mean a major change in Belgian asylum and migration policy.

The bill therefore received a lot of criticism. Including Vluchtelingenwerk Vlaanderen, 11.11.11. and Amnesty International urge parliamentarians to reject the bill.

Civil society organizations fear that Frontex will be able to operate unmolested, use violence or ignore human rights. They feel strengthened by the Council of State, which was critical of the bill.

“Given Frontex’s problematic history with police violence and illegal pushbacks, it is essential that this bill is thoroughly reconsidered,” said Tine Claus, director of Vluchtelingenwerk Vlaanderen. “We urge you to vote against the bill until there is full clarity on the powers of Frontex agents on Belgian soil.”

Frontex has often been criticized for violating human rights when carrying out ‘pushbacks’. In June last year, an investigation was launched into the role of Frontex in a shipping disaster off the Greek coast with 750 migrants on board. Only 104 people could be saved at that time.