The EU has a comprehensive and resilient framework in place to manage migration, and one which has shown clear results, with illegal border crossings at their lowest level since 2021. However, recent events have put the EU’s borders to the test, from the Eastern borders to the shores of the Mediterranean. This summer’s crisis in Ceuta showed how quickly sudden, massive arrivals can build up at the EU’s external borders and lead to emergency situations.
Such situations threaten the common security and unity, and lead to an unacceptable loss of lives. The protection of the EU’s external borders is a shared European responsibility. A common European response, united action and solidarity are essential.
In reply to the events in Ceuta, President von der Leyen has set out five key areas to guide EU action. Building on the European Strategy on Asylum and Migration of January 2026, the Commission sets out now the way forward in these five areas with key actions for different actors, expanding the existing tools and frameworks and creating new ones as needed:
Increasing Cooperation with Partner Countries to Prevent Illegal Migration
Stronger cooperation with partner countries including on monitoring, early warning and information exchange is key to reducing illegal migration. Priority areas include:
Addressing the root causes of illegal migration with partner countries, creating meaningful opportunities for people in their home countries, with a new Mediterranean Youth Skills and Jobs initiative and work on new Gateway Offices to promote legal and safe mobility to the EU;
A strong crisis management dimension in new and existing partnerships, with efficient early warning mechanisms and protocols;
Closer cooperation between Frontex, Europol and Eurojust and partner countries, to improve the exchange of information, risk and threat analyses, and intelligence on migration trends and routes;
Developing European Border Surveillance System (EUROSUR) Coordination Centres with partner countries to strengthen pre-frontier intelligence exchange and risk assessment.
Strengthening EU External Borders
While the protection of the EU’s external borders is primarily a Member State responsibility, the EU will step up its support to deter and respond to future emergencies or crises, including with:
Work on a new European Emergency Response Framework to protect the security of EU borders at all times, especially in scenarios when mass movements are engineered and weaponised, as announced by President von der Leyen in her State of the Union speech;
A Commission proposal to strengthen the Frontex mandate, including with a reinforced Standing Corps for immediate deployment of personnel and equipment, a stronger role in returns, closer cooperation with partner countries, and a strong capacity to monitor the external border and pre-frontier areas.
Targeted support to Member States for reinforcing sensitive segments of the EU external borders.
Provision of support through the Union Civil Protection Mechanism, upon request from Member States.
Improving Monitoring, Situational Awareness and Early Warning Systems
To avert future crises and improve monitoring and situational awareness, the plan sets out the following key actions:
Proposing to reinforce Frontex’s mandate to enable it to conduct social media monitoring for better situational awareness and operational support in the context of external borders management;
Member States should provide timely and relevant information to the European Border Surveillance System (EUROSUR) and immediately report developments with an impact on the EU’s external borders;
Deliver agile responses to emerging migration trends, evolving patterns, and rapid spread of mis- and disinformation through the Global Alliance Rapid Response Initiatives (GARRI);
Develop an agile framework for making full use of the tools available under the Digital Services Act to respond to crises and incidents, with new protocols to ensure structured and immediate cooperation and information sharing with very large online platforms, search engines and national authorities.
New digital partnerships with partner countries to detect and respond to online content fuelling illegal migration;
Dismantling migrant smuggling and trafficking networks.
