Whenever a question arises about bodice For migrants and refugees in the Aegean, the more there was an accusation that the Greek Coast Guard was putting people at risk by trying to fend off unstable, crowded, and unsafe ships, the more people died and the focus was on the work of Frontex, the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, the answer was that it was under investigation.
On February 15, the European Anti-Fraud Agency (OLAF) submitted its report, which was partly at the origin of a report Frontex manager resigns, Fabrice Legere. The German magazine says that this report is “so toxic” that no one wants to read it Der Spiegel and french notes Le Monde, which, along with the organization Lighthouse Reports, had access to the document. The new director of Frontex, Latvian Aija Calnaja, said she had not seen him. Greek Commission Vice President Margaritis Schinas, a longtime supporter of Fabrice Leggeri, declined to say during the meeting whether he had read it. Le Monde.
In short, the report confirms what has been repeatedly denounced: that the Greek Coast Guard often resorts to the so-called bodiceThat is, they “push” the ships back to the origin when they are already in their waters, and international law obliges them to allow them to reach their destination, and to assist and rescue their passengers if they are in danger. But it also claims that the Frontex leadership had detailed knowledge of the phenomenon and that it participated in the cover-up of these illegal acts.
Instead of ban bodiceLeggeri and his associates cover up Greece, blatantly lie to the European Parliament, and hide the fact that the agency funds bodice European taxpayer money, said Giorgos Christides, co-author of the article in the magazine Der Spiegelon Twitter.
Christides cites some particularly disturbing points in the report. Quote attributed to a Frontex official in connection with an incident: “Based on the photo, the information we had and the photos we saw, he was accepted into the agency we were facing.” bodice Illegal, but the employers wanted to cover up and not allow the investigation.”
Regarding another case, in August 2000, Frontex officials said that the Greek coast guard was “gravely endangering the lives of the passengers”, after a Frontex plane published photos of a rubber boat as it was being transported into Turkish territorial waters. A handwritten note said Frontex withdrew “so we will not be witnesses”.
Frontex management, in turn, says the news from French Le Mondealways responds in the same way to the conclusions of his departments, and reports to OLAF: limit results to the smallest possible circle – avoid infection, the paper described, citing the report: “There was a recurring system [da parte da direcção], about the desire to conceal information and avoid responsibility,” said a Frontex official. “I think at the time that Fabrice Leggeri wanted to protect Greece. It is the country that the agency supports the most. But no one understands why he took this risk,” recalls an employee who was close to Leggeri.
In response to questions from journalists about the case, Anita Heber, spokeswoman for the European Commission for Migration and Internal Security, said that “the protection of external borders must be carried out with respect for fundamental rights,” and that “the Commission assured Frontex that it must ensure that the necessary structures are in place to ensure That happens.”
Heber also stated that the European Commissioner for Home Affairs Elva Johansson At its last meeting with the Greek government on June 30, it insisted that all allegations of push back It must be investigated.
On the question of whether the report will be made public, at the request of the journalists who published it and several members of the European Parliament, European Commission spokesman Eric Mammer said these are documents “not intended to be made public”.
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