Frontex deportees often miss promised EU reintegration aid

Frontex spent €76 million on the programme in 2024, and expenditure was expected to rise this year. The agency suspended it in October after exhausting its budget earlier than planned, though a spokesperson said the pause was temporary and the programme was not closing. The European Commission is seeking an additional €50 million to cover the shortfall.

The investigation also found that Frontex facilitated voluntary returns without legally required return decisions in nine of the 31 countries where it operated in 2024. Such orders, issued by national authorities, allow people to challenge deportations and help establish whether a removal could amount to an illegal pushback. Frontex continued operations in the countries concerned through the end of 2024; an April 2025 decision made programme assistance conditional on return decisions.

Returnees who say promised aid never arrived have no formal Frontex complaints channel, the report said. Three people returned from Austria to Syria told Der Standard that two had not received assistance they said they were promised. Legal adviser Sebastian Sperner of Asylkoordination said recipients had no clear, enforceable route to claim the money after leaving the EU. Frontex said it could examine cases with Austrian authorities if the people concerned consented, and directed recipients with problems to the reintegration partner or referring member state.

The investigation also reported that Frontex declined a request for a breakdown of beneficiaries by nationality and year, saying member-state consent was required. Minutes from an April 2026 meeting show the agency raised growing public interest and asked participating states and NGO partners to consult it before releasing information. Frontex said it had explained access-to-documents rules, not instructed governments to seek its approval. The agency facilitated 63,000 returns in 2025 and classed two-thirds as voluntary. On 27 October, EU Commissioner Magnus Brunner announced a proposed framework for Frontex to support returns between non-EU countries.