Frontex scandal: Europe’s borders are a legal vacuum

There are obviously two ways to read the latest European Parliament report on the European border protection agency Frontex. Either almost like all experts, journalists, lawyers and anyone who knows anything about what is going on in the Aegean.

Then one has to come to the conclusion that Frontex President Fabrice Legere grossly neglected his official duties. European Parliamentarians noted that Frontex officials were aware of the illegal return of refugees from Greece to Turkey, the so-called reactions, but they did nothing about it, and even worse, Legiri destroyed material condemning.

Frontex is a partner in human rights violations

Or you can interpret the report like Leggeri himself. His agency tweeted last Thursday: “Frontex welcomes the review group’s report and conclusions that there is no evidence of the agency’s involvement in human rights violations.”

If there is still a need to prove how far from reality the officers at Frontex headquarters in Warsaw are, how far they turn a blind eye to the mismanagement and irresponsibility prevalent there, it means that the agency supplied itself with its reaction. to the report of the European Parliament.

Yes, it is true that the parliamentarians stated that there is no evidence of any direct participation by Frontex officials in push-back operations in the Aegean Sea. No one said that either. The allegations against Frontex have always involved collusion, which is now also endorsed by the European Parliament. Transformational maneuvering such as that of the Leggeri people is usually more familiar than authoritarian regimes.

Restitution is an abstract term for a process that is clearly illegal and almost always violent under European law. What the Greek border guards usually do is stop the refugee boats, destroy the engine, and throw people, often women and children, onto boats at sea. In doing so, you are repeatedly and willfully endangering the lives of those who seek protection. Frontex has long claimed to know nothing about it, but the agency has been operating in the area for years.

Mortgage at any cost

Last year, Spiegel and international partners proved this to be untrue, and Frontex officers were around on at least seven occasions during turn-backs but did nothing. Even Frontex recorded some legal violations from the air, and then the President of Frontex Legery deliberately deceived the public. The research was the reason the European Parliament convened a review group, which has now come to the same conclusion.

So it is officially recorded that Frontex hides human rights violations on the borders of Europe, and that it covers crimes committed by the national security forces. But rather than show remorse and overhaul its human rights monitoring system, as experts have advocated for years, Leggeri continues to insist that everything is done right. He proves that he cannot be tolerated as the boss of Frontex, and that renewal of the agency is not possible with him.

Worse, political officials are apparently not ready to draw any conclusions from the Frontex scandal. The Board of Directors of Frontex, which is responsible for summoning or removing the head of the authority, is composed largely of representatives from the member states of the European Union. You seem very happy about the head of the authorities not taking the law seriously when it comes to preventing refugees. Interior ministers such as Horst Seehofer also tolerate constant violations of the law.

In Europe, there is a political consensus on the need to remove refugees by all means. The reaction to the Frontex scandal shows that one is willing to go beyond one’s own standards and values ​​if necessary.