The French leader, head of the agency responsible for monitoring the borders of the Schengen area, has been the subject of an investigation by the European Anti-Fraud Office.
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Posted on 4/29/2022 1:50 PM Updated on 4/29/2022 3:31 PM
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The French head of the European agency Frontex, Fabrice Leggeri, has handed in his resignation, France Télévisions learned on Friday April 29, confirming information from AFP. The proposal presented on Thursday for the resignation of this figure of the impermeability of European borders still has to be “examined by the board”.
Fabrice Leggeri, Executive Director of Frontex since 2015, was targeted in early 2022 by a non-public report by the European Anti-Fraud Office which, according to Le Point, essentially accused him of “failing to respect procedures and disloyalty to the European Union and bad human resource management”.
This investigation comes amid regular allegations, particularly from NGOs in recent years, of illegal refoulement of migrants and complacency towards the Greek authorities, such as brutal returns to Turkey.
Also on Wednesday, an investigation by Le Monde and Lighthouse Reports showed that between March 2020 and September 2021, Frontex listed illegal returns of migrants arriving in Greek waters as simple “departure prevention operations carried out in Turkish waters.”