25 March 2026 – In recent years universities all over Europe have faced criticism and protest actions in response to their ties to the fossil fuel industry and to Israel’s genocidal war machine. These protests have highlighted the extent to which universities are deeply entrenched in violent and repressive systems, providing research, data and advise to keep them running, refine and expand them. The need to secure external funding is often one of the drivers to participate in such work in the first place, especially in times where many governments impose significant cuts to higher education and research budgets.

The new report ‘Border Labs How Universities Power Europe’s Border Regime’ by the Transnational Institute (TNI) and Stop Wapenhandel shows that universities are similarly deeply involved in Europe’s repressive border and migration policies in multiple ways. They receive research and innovation funding from the EU’s Framework Programmes and a range of other EU instruments; strengthen their ties with border authorities, including Frontex, and with the military and security industry; contribute to the EU’s border externalisation efforts; and sometimes seek to commercialise academic work through the market.

Many people within universities produce fundamental and critical research that could pave the way for political change away from the EU’s untenable, violent and escalating border and migration policies. Students and faculty therefore have an important role in pushing universities to take action against their involvement in the border-industrial-academic complex that continuously expands and raises the walls of Fortress Europe.

Read the key points and report on the website of TNI.

11 March 2026 – Even as people continue to die at Europe’s borders, little is known about the private sector’s role in implementing increasingly draconian EU migration policies. In fact, when it comes to migration, the  cosy relationship between private companies and EU institutions is purposefully kept far from public view, escaping scrutiny  and transparency. As our new research shows, the truth is that such companies are getting more than their fair share of face time with EU policymakers, via pitch events that create exclusive opportunities to influence public spending and policymaking on migration topics.

Read the whole article by Caterina Rodelli on the website of Access Now.

17 December 2025 – On December 18th, International Migrants Day, people in six EU countries will take action against the growing training infrastructure of EU border guard agency Frontex. This comes in response to an International Action Day called for by the Abolish Frontex network, consisting of more than 130 groups and organisations. The actions that are planned in Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands and Poland include demonstrations, public presentations and workshops.

With the expansion of Frontex’s mandate, budget and organisation, especially since 2015, the agency’s training infrastructure has also gradually grown. Now Frontex has announced its first dedicated Training Center in Warsaw, set to open in October 2026. This center will be an exclusive factory for border police, intending to train over 200 officers per year and aims to rapidly expand its reach to other EU member states.

This new center, alongside its existing “Partnership Academies“ are militarized training grounds in order to standardize and normalize inhumane detention, deportation, and denial of safety to millions of people on the move. This is not about security; it’s about increasing the capacity for cruelty.

Kim, Abolish Frontex spokesperson, says: “Frontex training centers are normalizing exclusion and control. We will not stand by as Frontex recruits and trains border guards to inflict violence against people on the move! Money invested in Frontex infrastructure means more pushbacks, more deaths at sea and more suffering at EU borders.”

The Abolish Frontex network was launched in June 2021 to connect and strengthen protests against the EU’s deadly border regime. Over 130 organisations and groups in EU countries and beyond have joined  the informal network that strives for freedom of movement for everyone.

Continue reading “Student protest prevents Frontex recruiting event at University of Amsterdam”

 

 

 

 

 

 

[En Français ci-dessous]

17 November 2025 – With the expansion of Frontex’s mandate, budget and organisation, especially since 2015, the agency’s training infrastructure has also gradually grown. It now includes a plethora of trainings, courses, workshops and exercises for Frontex personnel as well as employees of border authorities of EU member states and, in some cases, third countries in- and outside Europe. Many of these activities take place on ad hoc locations, such as EU external border crossing points (including airports), or online. The new briefing ‘Frontex’s training infrastructure’ [pdf] by the Abolish Frontex Research Group lists permanent Frontex training locations, for its Standing Border Guard Corps trainings, its Partnership Academies network and its Joint Master’s programme.

[En Français]

Avec l’élargissement du mandat, du budget et de l’organisation de Frontex, particulièrement depuis 2015, l’infrastructure de formation de l’agence s’est également développée progressivement. Elle comprend désormais une multitude de formations, de cours, d’ateliers et d’exercices destinés au personnel de Frontex ainsi qu’aux employés des autorités frontalières des États membres de l’UE et, dans certains cas, de pays tiers en Europe ou en dehors. Bon nombre de ces activités se déroulent dans des lieux ad hoc, tels que les points de passage des frontières extérieures de l’UE (y compris les aéroports), ou en ligne. Cette note d’information ‘Infrastructure de formation Frontex’ répertorie les lieux de formation permanents de Frontex, pour ses formations du corps permanent de garde-frontières, son réseau d’académies de partenariat et son programme de master commun.

 

[En Français ci-dessous – En español abajo – Po polsku poniżej]

28 October 2025 – On December 18th, International Migrants Day, we are calling for decentralised actions against the escalating militarisation of Europe’s border regime  We must resist the increasing capacity for deadly policing. Resistance starts with dismantling Frontex’s training infrastructure.

Frontex is pouring millions of euros into its first dedicated Training Center in Warsaw, set to open in October 2026. This center will be an exclusive factory for border police, intending to train over 200 officers per year and aims to rapidly expand its reach to other EU member states. This new center, alongside its existing “Partnership Academies“, is nothing less than a militarized training ground to standardize and normalize inhumane detention, deportation, and denial of safety to millions of people on the move. This is not about security; it’s about increasing the capacity for cruelty. Read more about Frontex’s training infrastructure in this briefing.

On December 18th, we call on you to organize decentralized actions to resist this deadly regime and its training apparatus.

From across Europe and North Africa, we will send an undeniable message: We will not stand by as Frontex recruits and trains border guards to inflict violence against people on the move!

GET ORGANIZED in your respective cities as we call to #AbolishFrontexAcademy! Continue reading “On December 18th: Stop the Violence: Rise Up Against Frontex’s Training for Border Brutality!”