According to Frontex, Aija Kalnaja is now expected to temporarily take over the official business of Leggeri. Before joining Frontex, she was deputy chief of police in Latvia.
Frontex has long been criticized for illegally rejecting refugees in the Mediterranean. The agency’s executives are said to have deliberately covered up the fact that Greek border guards were bringing refugees back into the open Mediterranean. Rejections by people seeking protection at external borders – pushbacks – are illegal in most cases under international law.
It was only on Wednesday that “Spiegel” reported that Frontex records practices at the EU’s external borders in a database. Based on the European Freedom of Information Act, researchers could have looked at Frontex’s internal database and compared it with photos and videos of crackdowns, according to the magazine. Frontex was involved in illegal reprisals against at least 957 refugees between March 2020 and September 2021.
The OLAF report contains serious allegations
According to a March “Spiegel” report, the EU’s anti-fraud authority OLAF also raised serious allegations against Frontex in this case. OLAF’s report on the allegations has not yet been made public, but the findings were summarized and presented to some MEPs and members of the Frontex Management Board in March.
frontex
Frontex was founded by the EU in 2004 and expanded to become the European Border and Coast Guard Agency following the refugee crisis that started in 2015. While protecting borders is still the responsibility of Member States, Frontex must ensure joint management of external borders and support national border protection units.
Specifically, these are allegations against Leggeri and two other Frontex executives, against whom OLAF recommends disciplinary measures, according to “Spiegel”. During the investigation, 20 witnesses were questioned and, among other things, the Frontex chief’s office was searched.
Leggeri always rejected the accusations
Leggeri, who took office in 2015, has repeatedly rejected criticism of Frontex’s actions. Last year, he told the German “Welt” on the matter: “As far as Greece is concerned, I would not just talk about resistance.”
There are situations at sea between Turkey and Greece that are not dangerous situations because the boats are not out of control. “They are trying to evade border controls and are believed to be used for criminal activities,” the Frenchman said. Then the legal framework for boat interception applies.
Call for the dissolution of Frontex
German humanitarian organization Sea Watch, which works to save boats in the Mediterranean, called Leggeri’s resignation “delayed but not enough”. The border agency “systematically breaks human rights” and is a “symbol of European deadly isolation”. It must therefore be abolished.
Spokespersons for the EU Commission in Brussels have rejected calls for the dissolution of Frontex. The agency plays a central role in supporting member states in protecting external borders and “at the same time in defending fundamental rights”. For this, however, Frontex must be stable and work well. The agency was created in 2004 with the enlargement of the EU to the east.
Karner: “A strong border protection agency is needed more than ever”
Interior Minister Gerhard Karner (ÖVP) asked that the issue of leadership at Frontex be clarified as soon as possible. “A strong border protection agency is needed now more than ever. All EU countries agree that robust protection of external borders is needed,” Karner said.
If external borders are not secured, this could put the EU at risk in the long run, according to the interior minister. “Many member states, including Austria, are massively affected by illegal migration, even though they do not have external EU borders.” The aim should be to “fight human smugglers” at the EU’s borders, Karner said. All people would have to be registered there consistently.
“Won” and “inevitable” dismissal
SPÖ MEP Bettina Vollath spoke on Friday – even before the official announcement – of Leggeri’s long-awaited resignation. “Frontex was demonstrably involved in violations of the law at the EU’s external borders, for which the EU agency’s senior management is obviously responsible,” she said in a broadcast. Leggeri did not show the instinct necessary for managing the sensitive agency during his seven-year tenure.
According to Vollath, Frontex’s internal database shows that between March 2020 and September 2021 alone, Frontex was involved in reprisals against at least 957 people. “Such figures are shocking – the EU, as guarantor of the rule of law and democracy, must set a good example, fundamental rights also and especially apply to our external borders,” said the SPÖ politician. It should be clarified what Leggeri’s personal responsibility for these cases is. There is also a need to rethink the entire EU agency.
“In the Ukraine crisis, Europe shows its friendly face, maybe it will learn from that. Inhumanity against displaced persons should not be a strategy,” said Michel Reimon, European spokesperson for the Greens. Inhuman behavior at the EU’s external borders against displaced persons is unacceptable and not worthy of a developed EU. “The right to asylum it is a human right and, as such, non-negotiable. Leggeri’s resignation is inevitable,” Reimon said.
“Possibility of a new beginning”
The German government welcomed Leggeri’s resignation. According to a German Interior Ministry spokesperson, this gives an opportunity for a fresh start at Frontex and to fully clarify the allegations and ensure that all the agency’s operations are carried out in full compliance with European law. This is the clear expectation of the federal government. Germany has a seat on the Frontex board of directors.