Frontex Suspends Migrant Reintegration Program as Budget Exhausted

The EU border agency Frontex halted new applications for its reintegration support program on Oct. 2 after its 2026 budget was depleted. The program, launched in 2022, provides financial aid, healthcare, vocational training and counseling to migrants returned to their home countries after asylum refusals. Frontex had taken on an average of 2,368 new cases per month, 63 % above its target, and about 75 % more cases than the same period last year, pushing costs beyond available funds. The agency has asked the European Commission for additional funding but awaits clarity on the 2027 and 2028 Multiannual Financial Framework. Existing participants will remain in the program, and Frontex will continue to offer other operational support to member states. The suspension highlights a gap between the EU’s ambition to increase returns and the resources allocated to support them, raising concerns about the sustainability of the bloc’s migration strategy.