Agencies

FRONTEX promotes, coordinates and develops European border management in line with the EU fundamental rights charter and the concept of Integrated Border Management. The agency:

• monitors and analyses the situation at the EU external borders. It carries out vulnerability assessments to evaluate the capacity and readiness of each Member State to face challenges at its external borders.
• assists EU countries in training national border guards and develops common training standards. It also participates in the development of research and innovation related to the control of external borders.
• assists EU countries in circumstances requiring increased technical and operational help at external borders which may imply support - in cooperation with Europol and Eurojust – to detect and prevent organised cross-border crime and terrorism.
• supports search and rescue (SAR) operations at sea and assists EU countries in returns of people who have exhausted all legal avenues to legitimise their stay within the EU, and supports – together with other EU agencies – national authorities of the Member States carrying out coast guard functions.

FRONTEX is located in Warsaw (Poland).

Frontex website

Europol assists EU countries’ police forces in preventing and combating serious crime such as terrorism, drug trafficking, people smuggling, cybercrime, and other organised crime activities.

The services offered by Europol to national law enforcement services include:

• facilitating exchanges of information
• providing criminal analyses and threat assessments
• assisting and coordinating cross border investigations and operational actions.

Unlike national police forces, Europol does not have any autonomous investigative or coercive powers.

Europol is located in The Hague (The Netherlands).

Europol website

CEPOL is an EU agency dedicated to develop, implement and coordinate training activities for law enforcement officials. It brings together a network of training institutes for law enforcement officials based in EU countries and supports them in providing training on security, law enforcement cooperation and information exchange, mirroring the European priorities in each crime area.

CEPOL’s portfolio encompasses residential activities, online learning (i.e. webinars, online modules, online courses, etc.), exchange programmes, common curricula, research and science.

CEPOL is located in Budapest (Hungary).

CEPOL website

The European Union Drugs Agency (EUDA) is the leading authority on illicit drugs in Europe. Its role is to ensure the EU’s preparedness to address developments on illicit drugs that negatively impact public health, safety and security. The EUDA supports EU and national policymaking by providing evidence-based information on drugs, drug addiction and their consequences. 

The agency focuses on contributing to EU preparedness on drugs through four main actions: 

• Anticipate: Helping the EU and its Member States anticipate future drug-related challenges and their consequences. 
• Alert: Issuing real-time alerts on new drug risks and threats to health and security. 
• Respond: Helping the EU and its Member States strengthen their responses to the drug phenomenon. 
• Learn: Facilitating EU-wide knowledge exchange and learning for evidence-based drug policies and interventions. 

The EUDA is located in Lisbon (Portugal).

EUDA website

EUAA contributes to the implementation of the Common European Asylum System. It:

• facilitates, develops and coordinates practical cooperation among EU countries on asylum and provides training to asylum and reception officials.
• acts as an independent centre of expertise on asylum; draws up an annual report on the asylum situation in the EU and regularly prepares country of origin information reports
• provides technical and operational assistance to EU countries which experience particular pressure on their asylum and reception systems, or which request assistance with regard to the implementation of their obligations under the Common European Asylum System

EUAA is located in Valletta (Malta).

EUAA website