The Evolution and Relevance of the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex) in Shaping the Asylum and Migration Securitization Process in the European Union

Abstract

The aim of the article is to analyze the importance of the European Border and Coast Guard Agency in the ongoing process of securitization of asylum and migration in the European Union countries. Therefore, the paper will attempt to answer the following research questions: how has the evolution of the European Border and Coast Guard Agency’s activities contributed to the ongoing securitisation of asylum and migration in the European Union and can all of Frontex’s core tasks be considered securitisation practices? The article also attempts to attribute Frontex’s main tasks to two types of securitisation practices proposed by Thierry Balzacq: (1) traditional activities that have been implemented to address what are largely perceived as security issues; (2) extraordinary activities, not only in the sense of ‘exceptional’ or ‘illegal’ but more broadly in the sense of ‘unusual’ that is, never before used or rarely used in relation to migration and asylum.