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€2 billion in 15 years: how Frontex finances Fortress Europe

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08 September 2025

Frontex, the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, pays out hundreds of millions of euros every year to EU and Schengen member states. The money supports the agency’s standing corps of border guards, operations at the EU’s external borders, and cooperation with non-EU states, amongst other things. Data visualised here shows the scale and scope of the funding provided by Frontex: more than €2 billion between the beginning of 2008 and the end of 2024.

Image: Frontex

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Financing Fortress Europe

Between the beginning of 2008 and the end of 2024, Frontex paid out just over €2 billion in grants, according to data published by the agency.

The money has financed the growth of the agency’s standing corps of border guards, operations at the EU’s external borders, the acquisition of surveillance technology, and cooperation with non-EU states, amongst other things.

Some of the money is used to reimburse member state expenditure (for example, for deportations or the use of boats, planes and other “heavy technical equipment”).

Money for the standing corps, however, is provided “on a yearly basis in the form of financing not linked to costs.”

This is supposed to “enable Member States to hire and train additional staff to provide them with the necessary flexibility to comply with the mandatory contributions to the standing corps.”

Frontex’s budget has been increased drastically over the past decade, as have the funds awarded to member states for participating in the agency’s activities and operations.

In 2016 and 2019 there were revisions to Frontex’s founding legislation. These substantially increased its tasks, and it was provided with massive funding increases for carrying them out.

More increases are coming: the European Commission has proposed giving Frontex €11.2 billion between 2028 and 2034, and there is currently an open public consultation on a plan to give the agency even more powers.

The financial effects of these changes can be seen in the differences, over a decade, in the total amounts awarded to the EU member states that were the top five recipients of Frontex grants.

State	2014 grants total	2024 grants total	2014-24 grants total
Germany	€1.6m	€54m	€370m
Italy	€8.4m	€31m	€314m
Spain	€7.9m	€18m	€188m
Greece	€3m	€11m	€148m
Portugal	€3.9m	€16m	€126m

Total Frontex grants received per state, 2008-2024

Frontex grants recieved per state and year

Individual grants by country and beneficiary

For this visualisation, grants smaller than 1% of each country's total grants were grouped to "Multiple smaller grants". For a full list of individual grants, please check the full dataset.

Frontex grants per sectors

In 2024, the internal Frontex sectors that paid out the highest total amounts in grants were:

• Deployment Management Division, responsible for “standing corps deployment and management”: €91m
• European Centre for Returns, responsible for coordinating deportation operations: €50m
• Operational Support Division, dealing with “human resources, technical capabilities, services, and financial and IT resources for operations”: €81m

Double-click to open a list of all grants for that sector

Funding from Frontex

The grant data published by Frontex is categorised according to the purposes set out in the 2019 Frontex Regulation.

The Regulation obliges Frontex to “organise appropriate technical and operational assistance” for an EU member state, upon request from that state.

Grants data for 2008-22 was published by Frontex; data for 2023 and 2024 was provided in response to access to documents requests from Statewatch.

According to the 2019 Regulation, Frontex can “finance-or co-finance” a number of activities:

• joint operations for one or more member states, including deployment of the standing corps (border guards) and “technical equipment” (for example, surveillance technologies);
• rapid border interventions, including standing corps and technical equipment deployment;
• activities for one or more member states and non-EU states at the external borders, including joint operations with third countries;
• standing corps deployment for “migration management support teams” in “hotspot” areas;
• technical and operational assistance to member states and non-EU states in support of search and rescue operations for persons in distress at sea, if such situations arise during maritime border surveillance operations;
• the European Border Surveillance System (EUROSUR).

As noted above, member states are also provided with grant funds for the development of the standing corps.

Financing or co-financing should take place in accordance with the Frontex financial rules.

Frontex grants per (grouped) projects

Double-click to open a list of all grants for that project

Standing corps funding

Between 2021 and 2024, €380m was paid out in grants by the agency’s Deployment Management Division, which hosts the Standing Corps Preparedness and Deployment Unit.

Frontex is responsible for the European Border and Coast Guard standing corps, which is supposed to consist of 10,000 border guards by 2027. It is likely that there will be an attempt to increase that number to 30,000, with another proposal designed to expand Frontex’s powers planned for autumn 2026.

Frontex provides yearly funding to member states for the development of the standing corps. This is supposed to help meet the targets for standing corps membership, which are set out in annex I and annex II to the 2019 Regulation. Management board reports have previously noted that the recruitment, and especially training of these officials, is behind schedule.

The standing corps is made up of four categories of staff:

• Category 1: border guards directly employed by Frontex as staff members and regularly deployed on operations;
• Category 2: long-term staff seconded from member states;
• Category 3: short-term staff seconded from member states; and
• Category 4: a “reserve for rapid reaction” made up of member state border guards available to Frontex for “rapid border interventions.”

As of September 2023, the standing corps consisted of:

• Category 1: 970 officials;
• Category 2: 450 officials;
• Category 3: 3,899 officials; and
• Category 4: 1,500 officials.

As of April 2024, standing corps officers were deployed in 19 EU member states.

Members of the standing corps can be granted executive powers under national law, carry firearms, and take part in:

• deportations;
• joint operations;
• rapid border interventions; and
• “any other relevant operational activities in the Member States or in third countries,” provided they have the relevant legal authorisation.

In detail: grants for member states

This section looks at the five states that, between 2008 and 2024, receiving the most grant funding from Frontex – Germany, Italy, Spain, Greece and Portugal.

In the data, Frontex labels each grant with:

• an abbreviation, which shows the sector the grant is part of (e.g. returns, technical equipment, etc.);
• the name and address of the beneficiary (e.g. ministry of the Interior, National Police, etc.);
• and the project title – which is a combination of the sector abbreviation, year, country, and grant number, and the amount.

The labels and abbreviations used in the data have changed frequently over the years in line with internal restructuring of the agency, making a detailed analysis of the funding distribution complicated.

For example, the abbreviation ECRET refers to the European Centre for Returns, the unit responsible for coordinating deportation operations. However, in 2017, the department with that role was the Return Support Unit (RSU). In 2013, it was the Returns Operations Sector (ROS).

Furthermore, references to specific operations (such as Poseidon or Triton) were dropped after 2018, and replaced by more general descriptive labels such as ‘human resources’ and ‘technical equipment’.

Other labels for operational activities have included Field Operations Unit (FOU), Sea Border Sector, Field Deployment Unit, Operational Response Division, or Land Border Sector. Below, these categories have been grouped under the more over-arching theme of operational and technical support and deployment.

The sections below therefore focus on thematic areas, rather than specific units or abbreviations - for example, using “returns” rather than “ECRET”. However, for clarity, the current abbreviation is included in brackets.

Abbreviations

• Deployment Management Division (DMD)
• European Centre for Returns (ECRET)
• Field Deployment Unit (FDU)
• Field Operations Unit (FOU)
• Land Border Sector (LBS)
• Operational Response Division (ORD)
• Operational Support Division (OSD)
• Return Support Unit (RSU)
• Returns Operations Sector (ROU)
• Sea Border Sector (SBS)

Germany

Total grant payments from Frontex, 2014-2024: €370m

While Germany has also received comparatively high grant payments compared to other member states, annual funding jumped significantly following the 2015 migration ‘crisis’. This can be seen in the following figures, showing total grant payments from Frontex to Germany:

• 2014: €1.6m
• 2018: €34m
• 2021: €44m
• 2022: €41m
• 2023: €51m
• 2024: €54m

The biggest proportion of these payments was for “returns” – that is, deportations (ECRET). Germany “is by far and away the biggest user of Frontex’s services” for charter flight deportations, according to other data published by the agency. Payments have grown enormously over the last decade:

• 2014: €780.000
• 2018: €19m
• 2021: €25m
• 2022: €21m
• 2023: €27m
• 2024: €28m

The 2024 figure for deportations is more than half of Germany’s total grant funding from Frontex (€54m).

Germany also receives a significant amount of funding for the development of the standing corps, which became operational in 2021, and falls under the Deployment Management Division (DMD):

• 2021: €6.8m
• 2022: €17m
• 2023: €21m
• 2024: €19m

For operational and technical support and deployment, Germany has received:

• 2014: €676k (Sea Border Sector; Land Border Sector)
• 2018: €11m (Operational Support Division)
• 2021: €12.5m (Field Deployment Unit; Field Operations Unit)
• 2022: €2.7m (FOU)
• 2023: €2.7m (FOU)
• 2024: €8.2m (FOU; Operational Support Division)

This was mostly to compensate the country for the use of “heavy technical equipment,” such as aircraft and boats.

A host of other payments can also be found in the data. For example, Germany received €18,411 in 2023 for the “2nd international cruise ship meeting in 2022.”

This appears to have been the sequel to an event that took place for the first time in 2020, to bring together “experts on border control of the ever-increasing cruise shipping traffic.” The first meeting took place in the context of the Baltic Sea Region Border Control Cooperation framework.

Italy

Total grant payments from Frontex, 2014-2024: €314m

In total, Italy has received €39 million in 2023, close to double the 2020 budget (€19 million), though this dropped slightly in 2024.

• 2014: €8.4m
• 2018: €19m
• 2021: €33m
• 2022: €39m
• 2023: €39m
• 2024: €31m

As of 2024, Italy received funding predominantly for deportations, the development of the standing corps, and field operations.

For support in deportation operations, Italy has received:

• 2014: €1.1m
• 2018: €5.8m
• 2021: €7.3m
• 2022: €10m
• 2023: €9.3m
• 2024: €7.6m

For the development of the standing corps, Italy has received:

• 2021: €4.7m
• 2022: €11m
• 2023: €14m
• 2024: €7.4m

For operational and technical support and deployment, Italy has received:

• 2014: €7.1m (Sea Borders Sector)
• 2018: €13m (Operational Response Division)
• 2021: €18.9m (FDU; FOU)
• 2022: €18m (FDU; FOU)
• 2023: €14m (FOU)
• 2024: €15.4m (Operational Support Division; FOU)

The 2024 funding for operational support and deployment predominantly came under the label of “heavy technical equipment”.

There are two noticeable spikes in the funding received by Italy: one in 2015, at the start of the migration ‘crisis’, and the other in 2021, with the addition of funding for the standing corps. This mirrors the pattern in Germany: funding has not decreased post-‘crisis’.

Spain

Total grant payments from Frontex, 2014-2024: €188m

The total annual amounts paid to Spain by Frontex in grants between 2014 and 2024 increased noticeably after 2021:

• 2014: €7.9m
• 2018: €13m
• 2021: €17m
• 2022: €19m
• 2023: €17m
• 2024: €18m

The biggest proportion of the payments from Frontex to Spain in recent years have gone towards its contributions to the standing corps, via the Deployment Management Division:

• 2021: €1.9m
• 2022: €6.6m
• 2023: €7.3m
• 2024: €4.3m

For its use of Frontex’s deportation services, Spain has received:

• 2014: €1.9m
• 2018: €2.3m
• 2021: €2.6m
• 2022: €2m
• 2023: €4.1m
• 2024: €3.8m

For operational and technical support and deployment, Spain has received:

• 2014: €5.5m (Sea Border Sector)
• 2018: €8.7m (Operational Response Division)
• 2021: 7.9m (Field Deployment Unit; Field Operations Unit)
• 2022: €3.1m (FOU)
• 2023: €5.5m (FOU; Operational Response Division)
• 2024: €1.2m (FOU; Operational Support Division)

Between 2020 and 2024, Spain also received €17.1m for training of standing corps officers, which takes place primarily in Avila, Spain under the label TRU. The label ACADEMY now appears to be used to refer to training programs for border guards.

In 2022, Spain received a single payment of €3,852 from the Information Fusion Center. This appears to focus on facilitating information sharing between partners. The grant was labelled “Eurosur Fusion Services,” through which “Frontex monitors the European Union’s pre-frontier area by means of satellites, chartered aircraft and drones.”

Greece

Total grant payments from Frontex, 2014-2024: €148m

Most of Frontex’s grants to Greece have contributed to maritime border control and surveillance operations. Frontex’s joint operation Poseidon began in the Aegean Sea in 2006, and is ongoing. Greece has received varying amounts for its participation over the years:

• 2014: €3m
• 2018: €12m
• 2021: €9.3m
• 2022: €16m
• 2023: €17m
• 2024: €11m

There have been substantial increases in the payments to Greece for its contributions to the standing corps (DMD) in recent years:

• 2021: €820,000
• 2022: €5.9m
• 2023: €6.8m
• 2024: €3.2m

Grants for support for field operations and operational activities and deployment also increased significantly, until dropping in 2024:

• 2014: €2.9m (SBS)
• 2018: €12m (ORD)
• 2021: €8m (FDU, FOU)
• 2022: €9.6m (FOU)
• 2023: €10m (FOU)
• 2024: €7.7m (OSD, FOU)

Portugal

Total grant payments from Frontex, 2014-2024: €126m

Compared to the other states within the top five grant recipients, the grants paid by Frontex to Portugal have increased more slowly over time. This is likely due to the country being less significantly affected by the various migration ‘crises’ that have arisen since 2015.

Total grant payments received by Portugal from Frontex:

• 2014: €3.9m
• 2018: €13m
• 2021: €8.7m
• 2022: €13m
• 2023: €14m
• 2024: €16m

For its field operations and technical support and deployment, Portugal received:

• 2014: €3.4 (SBS)
• 2018: €12 (ORD)
• 2021: €6.3m (FDU, FOU)
• 2022: €6.5 (FOU)
• 2023: €8.4 (FOU)
• 2024: €10.1m (FOU, OSD)

There were substantial increases in the payments to Portugal for its contributions to the standing corps (DMD) in 2022 and 2023:

• 2021: €2m
• 2022: €3.3m
• 2023: €4.7m
• 2024: €2.3m

Similar to Spain, between 2021 and 2024 Portugal also received €7.2m for support in training activities, related to the training of standing corps officers.

Datasets

• All grant data received from Frontex, compiled and re-ordered
• Original data as received from/published by Frontex

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Author: Marloes Streppel. Data and graphics: Ida Flik.

Further reading