European Court of Justice Rules Frontex Not Liable for Syrian Family’s Return to Turkey: Key Details on AFPA Boat Patrolling Greek Border

AFPA boat patrolling the Greek border, the external border of the EU, under the authority of Frontex

NOS Nieuws•vandaag, 10:29

A Syrian family who was sent back to Turkey after applying for asylum in Greece will not receive compensation. The European border control unit Frontex is not liable for any damage, the European Court of Justice has ruled.

The case was brought by the Syrian family. After the war broke out in Syria, the family fled to Europe in 2016 via northern Iraq and Turkey. They applied for asylum in Greece, but were flown back to Turkey by the Greek authorities and Frontex.

The family now lives in northern Iraq and demanded compensation from Frontex because it was entitled to an asylum procedure in Greece. In addition, the family says the experience was traumatic and the children now lack the future prospects they would have had in Europe.

According to the Court, Frontex is not the appropriate body to assess such return decisions. It is the agency that assists member states in protecting the EU’s external borders. The power to assess whether a return decision is well-founded lies with the member states and not with Frontex, says the European Court.

Pushbacks

It was the first time that Frontex had to go to court for returning migrants. The EU agency has long been accused of illegally returning migrants when they try to reach the European Union.

Frontex would overlook those ‘pushbacks’ and even participate in them. Last year, the director of Frontex resigned after a critical report was published about the ‘pushbacks’. It showed, among other things, that senior officials within the agency kept the ‘pushbacks’ secret.

It was also the first time that a case against Frontex was substantively dealt with. Initiating such a procedure is usually very difficult: there are high legal requirements and a lot of evidence is needed.

The Syrian family can still appeal, but it is not yet clear whether that will happen.

2023-09-06 08:29:14
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