After months of internal investigations, Frontex has brought serious charges against its employees who worked in the Mediterranean region. They made mistakes in connection with possibly illegal pushbacks, the German media NDR and WDR said in their publication on the subject.
On at least two occasions, officials grossly flouted their duty to report violations, an internal investigation by the European Border and Coast Guard Agency says. She announced that she would investigate the cases in detail.
Allegations of illegal kickbacks
German media NDR and WDR have reported an incident since the spring in which migrants were pushed back from Greek territorial waters to Turkish waters. Officials from both the Greek Coast Guard and Frontex are believed to have attended.
One of the cases is particularly alarming: on the morning of February 19, 2024, about 30 people were in an inflatable boat on the Greek coast. Video footage showed them pleading for help while at least two other boats were nearby. One of the larger boats was under the flag of the Bulgarian border guard. Frontex employees never respond.
The internal investigation of Frontex confirms the publication of the journalists: the Bulgarian boat was acting on behalf of Frontex when it encountered the rubber boat of the migrants. And the crew apparently did not respond to calls for help. Furthermore, the case was not reported. According to the Frontex report, the agency's Bulgarian employees denied during internal interrogations that they encountered a boat with migrants. However, Frontex's internal investigation refutes this, writes ARD.
The German public-law media points out that the Bulgarian Ministry of the Interior has not answered the questions asked in connection with the case. The Greek border guard took over the leadership of the mission, as the action took place in Greek territorial waters. On the Greek side, it is stated that the investigation in both cases has been completed. At the same time, they emphasize that in the past Greek officials have saved many lives by adhering to legal requirements.
With batons against the refugees in the boats
And in the second incident, Frontex found serious errors, writes ARD. A video shows how at the end of January 2024, a rubber boat filled with about 30 people floats in the sea. A small boat bearing the insignia of the Greek Coast Guard approaches her, but the people on board do not render any assistance. Moreover, they make threats with batons. The footage also shows a larger Frontex boat in the background.
The investigation has now established "with certainty" that the boat with the migrants reached Greek territorial waters and was likely intercepted there twice - by Frontex and by Greek border guards near Lesvos. It was also confirmed that the Greek border guards came so close to the migrants' boat and produced waves so big that they posed a threat to people. And the batons were used by the Greek border guards in a "particularly dangerous way". Thus, the lives and security of the migrants were put at risk.
Their return to Turkey, where the migrants were rescued by the coast guard there, cannot be defined as entirely voluntary, the report further states. However, Frontex investigators have not been able to uncover the decisive motives for the return, notes ARD. Either way, the agency's staff acted improperly and improperly.
Illegal kickbacks are difficult to prove
The result of the investigations: illegal pushback is almost impossible to fully prove, and to identify those involved, as these cases play out over hours on the high seas.
ARD points out that there are heated debates in the EU about the way in which this type of border guarding is carried out. Various institutions, including the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF), have repeatedly reported that illegal push-backs regularly take place along the Turkish-Greek border, similar accusations are made against Croatia, Poland and Bulgaria. A few weeks ago, Finland even authorized illegal pushbacks by law - on the grounds that Russia is deliberately sending refugees to the border to threaten the security of neighboring countries.
Frontex must guarantee fundamental rights
Various international rules define push-backs as illegal, as they prevent people from seeking asylum and instead send them back across the EU's external borders. Such actions run counter to Frontex's mission to maintain border security while upholding fundamental rights.
The accusations against the activities of Frontex forced the director of the agency, Heinz Leytens, to enter explanatory mode. He himself took office in 2023 with the promise that Frontex would no longer be involved in illegal pushbacks. In a recent interview, Leitens announced that while border security is controlled by the countries concerned - in this case Greece - Frontex officials must report irregularities. In the specific two cases, this obviously did not happen.