The “European Border and Coast Guard Agency“ (FRONTEX) is a European Union agency, situated in Warsaw with the objective to protect the EU’s external borders. The abbreviation Frontex derives from the French term for external borders “frontières extérieures”. Frontex was established in 2004 and is active since 2005. The agency collects data on irregular migration and develops strategies to prevent this unauthorised entry into the EU. Although Frontex itself is not a police agency, they train and coordinate the EU member states’ border police forces. Frontex has been criticised by human rights organisations as well refugee relief organisations for violating international human rights and refugee law through their deterrence operations.