Lisbon, June 25, 2026 (Lusa) - Portugal is to host a regional command centre for the Iberian Peninsula run by the European border agency, which will initially see a further 25 Frontex officers stationed in the country, focusing on the monitoring of international ports and airports, amongst other tasks.

As explained by the interior minister, Luís Neves, at the end of the presentation ceremony for Frontex Contingent 5, which took place on Wednesday at the Portugal Pavilion in Lisbon, this new Iberian external border control unit will carry out “multidisciplinary work”, involving the fight against illegal immigration, human trafficking and organised crime, particularly drug trafficking.

“It represents a further step forward from an organisational point of view: more resources, more joint work. What we know is that today, Europe’s borders are primarily its external borders. Portugal and Spain bear a great deal of responsibility due to the pressure from the South and Latin America, and that is why we are taking steps to strengthen our efforts,” said the minister.

According to Luís Neves, Portugal already has a reinforcement of 25 Frontex officers, but this number may rise to 60 officers seconded to Portugal, according to information from Frontex.

Airport border controls, which form part of the Frontex reinforcement’s remit in Portugal, are not expected to pose any additional concern in the near future, assured Luís Neves, who highlighted the improvements in airport bottlenecks – caused by the new European border control system – and the likelihood that the situation will continue to improve.

He mentioned the training course for 360 PSP police officers, which is nearing completion and will see more police deployed at airports, the acquisition of further technology in the coming days, and improvements to infrastructure, to ensure that “after a long period of turbulence (…) calm is now on the horizon”.

Luís Neves gave assurances that “on the whole, the operation will run smoothly” this summer, not anticipating the need to suspend the collection of biometric data from non-Schengen citizens; however, should this happen, security would not be compromised, he assured, as the authorities always retain a record of passengers’ identification details.

Regarding the delays and queues caused by the new European control system, Frontex Director Hans Leijtens said these were not unique to Portuguese airports, but rather “a European problem”, with a higher incidence at certain types of airports, particularly those with large connecting hubs.

Airports such as Frankfurt, Schiphol in Amsterdam, Paris or those “with direct connections to South America or Africa” are “the ones currently facing the greatest challenges”, he said.

Meanwhile, the Spanish Minister of the Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, who was also present at the ceremony, emphasised that among Spain’s greatest concerns at present are drug trafficking and the fight against illegal immigration, noting that collaboration with Frontex, which has now been ongoing for two decades, has already helped reduce irregular migration by around 70% to the Canary Islands and by around 30% to the mainland.

However, the minister added, Spain’s objective is to “promote legal, safe and orderly migration”.

“We need people to come and live with us, work with us and build our society. One thing does not exclude the other, nor are they opposing policies; on the contrary, as far as migration policy is concerned, they are comprehensive policies: combating irregular migration, saving lives, fighting against and dismantling human trafficking networks, but, of course, promoting and working towards legal and safe migration”, he said.

Frontex Contingent 5 is set to deploy more than 300 law enforcement officers across Portugal and Spain to bolster security on the mainland of Portugal and in the region of the Azores, on the mainland of Spain and in the Canary Islands, as well as at key entry points into Europe in the Western Mediterranean.

The deployment will involve land, air and sea missions, with officers posted on both an annual and seasonal basis.

The deployment in Portugal, which is expected to involve 60 officers according to Frontex, will focus on border control at international ports and airports.

IMA/AYLS // AYLS

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