Officers of the European Border and Coast Guard Agency Frontex have been granted permission to aid the Belgian police with border controls and deportations.
On May 2, the Belgian Parliament gave the go-ahead for a law that allows Frontex officers to be deployed at the country’s airports, seaports and the Brussels Midi railway station.
Frontex forces will also be allowed to act as guards to accompany foreigners being deported to the country of their origin.
“The deployment of members of the permanent corps on Belgian territory will thus contribute to a sufficiently uniformed, armed, and equipped capacity with specific skills for the management of our external borders,” the law stated.
“This should enable us to fulfil our obligations as a Schengen State, in line with the expectations and commitments within the European Union.”
The law was introduced to expand the available manpower required to carry out deportations while the Belgian police is struggling to uphold security in, for example, train stations.
The Brussels Midi station is also a part of Europe’s external borders, as trains depart from there to London via the Channel Tunnel.
Up to 100 Frontex-agents now can be deployed in Belgium in the new “permanent corps”.
A sharp rise in crime around the Brussels-Midi train station has gained public attention in Belgium after a video of a family left stranded there for a night went viral. https://t.co/ZyAnOzm0hI
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) July 28, 2023
According to the Belgian Government, Frontex will be bound by domestic regulations regarding the use of force when operating on Belgian soil. The corps will also be subject to the oversight of the national police.
Left-wing parties and NGOs opposed the introduction of Frontex-forces, citing alleged violations of human rights by the organisation.
Still, the law was approved by 68 in favour with 44 MP’s opposed and 11 abstentions.
We asked the former director of Frontex and National Rally EU election candidate @FabriceLeggeri why he thinks he's being targeted after he was accused by left-wing NGOs of being complicit in crimes against humanity.
This was his response⬇️#CPACHungary2024 pic.twitter.com/AhtwdOrapf
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) April 25, 2024
