Gates of Europe: Episode 1 – The Border Agency

Filmed over three years, with access to the controversial European Border and Coast Guard Agency Frontex, this series investigates how Europe guards its borders. Across four episodes, the series follows the agency’s new director, border guards, politicians, activists and survivors. Can Europe protect its borders while safeguarding human rights at the same time?

Over twenty years, the controversial border and coast guard agency Frontex has grown from a small coordinating organisation into the largest agency of the European Union. From its control room in Warsaw, we follow the people who guard Europe’s borders. As the director seeks to restore trust in the organisation, we also turn our attention to critics who have spent years defending the rights of refugees at Europe’s external borders.