Germany proposes creation of European rapid intervention force to address migration crises

Germany has called for the creation of a rapid-response task force under the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex) to assist countries in the event of a sudden “pressure” from migration at the EU’s external borders, similar to what occurred in the Spanish enclave of Ceuta this summer.

German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt stated during a press conference in Munich yesterday that Europe must establish a “new support mechanism for countries facing such pressure at their external borders.” The conservative minister added, ahead of a meeting with 16 of his EU counterparts and European Commissioner Magnus Brunner to discuss migration issues, “In other words, a rapid-response task force under Frontex, capable of providing the necessary support to countries on the EU’s external borders within 24 hours.”

For his part, Commissioner Brunner indicated that the European Commission would soon grant an “enhanced” mandate to Frontex, enabling it to “act more quickly and flexibly, before situations escalate into full-blown crises.”

Dobrindt emphasized that the German government, led by Chancellor Friedrich Merz, which has made tightening migration policy a priority to curb the rise of the far right, “is convinced that Frontex can be more extensively utilized in return procedures for migrants,” particularly through third countries they transit, as well as under the “Dublin Regulation” within the EU, which determines the member state responsible for examining asylum applications.

Commissioner Brunner stressed that Frontex should play a “more significant and intensive role in return operations.”