The Development of Frontex: integration through supranationalism

This article explores the development of the European Border and Coast Guard (Frontex) and its implications for the EU’s approach to border control coordination. Through the theoretical lens of the principal-agent model, it investigates how Frontex has been able to obtain better information from a wealth of sources and brought institutional significance beyond what is suggested in its de jure mandate. The findings of this article show that the expansion of Frontex has resulted in fierce competition between EU stakeholders to exert their influence on the agency and created new supranational elements in the area of border management.