ABSTRACT
This chapter begins with an overview of the legal-policy context relevant for the study of Frontex as a global actor encompassing Union's relevant legal and institutional framework as well as the external dimension of the Union's border management area. Apart from that, the specific features of Frontex as an EU agency are mapped out with an emphasis on important design aspects of the Agency (mandate and governance issues) and on its gradual evolution. Next, a two-fold analysis of Frontex's international dimension based on the former Frontex Regulation is undertaken addressing both the formal legal framework for international cooperation and the international practice of the Agency. The chapter provides an assessment of Frontex's international dimension with regard to the legal nature and effects of its international cooperation instruments, the legal status of the Agency as a global actor, and as to the compatibility of its international cooperation with Union's relevant legal-institutional framework.
