According to Dziennik Gazeta Prawna, Frontex officials say the fluid situation on the EU’s external borders requires a standing force able to react swiftly to new challenges. The Frontex Quick Reaction Force is due to be launched in the first quarter of 2026.
The unit is intended to enable the rapid movement of significant personnel and equipment between operational areas in the event of a sudden migration surge or at the request of an EU member state.
Frontex Executive Director Hans Leijtens said earlier this month that, “to implement the E‑QRF,” the agency had begun talks with Germany, Estonia and Poland, where Frontex’s main headquarters is already located, the newspaper reported.
About 2,000 Frontex officers are currently deployed on the EU’s external borders. By 2027, the agency’s standing corps—the first uniformed service in EU history—is expected to reach 10,000 personnel, including 3,000 officers directly employed by Frontex. The rest are seconded by member states on short- or long-term assignments.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has signaled that the agency’s staffing base could eventually expand to as many as 30,000, according to Dziennik Gazeta Prawna.
Frontex data cited by the paper show that illegal crossings of the EU’s external borders fell by 26% in 2025, to about 178,000—the lowest level since 2021.
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Source: PAP