Frontex : The EU Agency That Has Been Accused of Covering up Illegal Migrant Pushbacks

What is Frontex? 

The European Border and Coast Guard Agency, also known as Frontex, was established in 2004 under the European Union to help members and Schengen-associated countries manage their external frontiers. European borders have witnessed an unprecedented rise in asylum-seeking migrants and refugees in recent years. Thus, Warsaw-based Frontex, tasked with coordinating maritime operations and external land borders, has served as a prominent presence at several international union-country airports. 

The accusations against Frontex 

On April 29, 2022, the resignation of Fabrice Leggeri, former Director General of Frontex, was approved. The resignation followed an in-depth investigation by OLAF, the European Anti-Fraud Office, whose European Union-designated role is to combat illegal activities. The inquiry found the agency guilty of “harassment” and “misconduct.” Frontex was accused of playing a role in violating the fundamental rights of refugees in Greece by forcing the return of migrants. The Frontex reporting system has concealed numerous pushbacks in the Aegean sea, and in the words of Giorgios Christides, “between March 2020 and September 2021 (the agency) was involved in 222 incidents in the Aegean, resulting in the summary expulsion of at least 957 and potentially 8,355 asylum seekers.”  The OLAF reports include 20 witnesses and over 120 pages of research conducted over 16 months. 

A pushback case that underlines the illegal actions of Frontex dates back to August 2020. On the morning of Aug. 5, the Greek Coast Guard dragged an inflatable raft with around 30 migrants back toward Turkey instead of taking them to Greek shores where they were headed. In one of many similar cases, an aircraft operated by Frontex was streaming the pushback live. A handwritten note on Nov. 16, 2020, by Frontex employees states that they had “withdrawn [their] FSA (Frontex Surveillance Aircraft) some time ago so as not to witness” the human rights violations. This statement clearly shows that the European Union agency was aware of the violations but instead decided to ignore the situation that it was established to prevent. 

Furthermore, the report included evidence that taxpayer money was used to fund the pushbacks. The Aug. 5 incident was led by the vessel “CPB 137,” which was co-owned by the agency. Leggeri was also accused of obstructing previous investigations regarding his agency’s illegal activity. Furthermore, his private messages revealed his conservative beliefs about the refugee crisis. 

Samuel Abraham: a personal account 

On Apr. 10, 2021, Samuel Abraham and 62 other people left the Libyan shore in a small rubber boat. Out of the 63 people who set off on the journey, only 51 were alive by the end. Abraham recounted, “the plane circled over our heads again and again, but no one helped us.” This plane was operated by Frontex, who witnessed the perilous situation below but refused to act. Moreover, he said that during their five days at sea, a cargo ship appeared; however, no help was offered, and the three people who jumped from the boat in attempts to reach the vessel failed and drowned. 

The secrecy behind the content of OLAF’s report 

Regulation 1049 of 2001 outlines the fundamental right of both residents and citizens of the European Union to access documents of and held by its institutions. While this regulation aims at promoting transparency and ensuring accessibility to all citizens, Article 4 (of Regulation 1049) identifies exceptions that can deny total or partial access to documents. It is under this article that Frontex continues to keep the OLAF report classified. However, some investigative journalists (Der Spiegel and Lighthouse Reports) have been able to leak parts of its contents. Resentment in response to the agency’s secrecy is widespread, especially considering the report’s allegations of misuse of union funds and international law breaches. The inaccessibility of the documents has meant that the agency’s victims have been unable to exercise their right to an effective remedy. Therefore, their right to a fair trial has been obstructed. However, it must also be noted that hindering investigations is not inherently illegal and, depending on circumstances, may even be deemed appropriate. Yet, when considering the far-reaching implications of the report, it is only normal to question the inconsistency between the findings of the report and the actions that will be taken against Frontex. 

The aftermath of the OLAF report

Only one resignation has occurred as a consequence of the OLAF report: that of Fabrice Leggeri. The European Parliament has continuously refused the approval of the agency’s budget. In September, Frontex announced “recent changes within the agency,” among which the suspension of operations in the Aegean sea was unmentioned. Article 46 of the Frontex Regulation states that the Executive Director should “suspend or terminate activity by the agency, in whole or in part, if he or she considers that there are violations of fundamental rights or international protection obligations related to the activity concerned that are of a serious nature or are likely to persist.” However, there is still a lack of Serious Incident Reporting on the island of Samos in Greece, where it was flagged that authorities were using intimidation tactics that discouraged incident reporting. The European Commission has continued to be reluctant to take a stance on the matter.