The EU’s border agency Frontex routinely covered up that Greece was pushing back migrants and preventing them from landing, according to a leaked investigative report.
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The report from the EU’s anti-corruption authority OLAF says that Frontex was complicit in the Greek effort to force migrants and asylum seekers to return to Turkey after crossing the Aegean Sea, writes German Der Spiegel.
The news magazine has been given access to Olaf’s 129-page report on Frontex’s behavior under the now-departed leader Fabrice Leggeri.
– Lie to the EU Parliament
French Le Monde and investigative editorial Lighthouse Reports have also seen the report, which was made after repeated accusations from rights groups that Frontex was complicit in Greek human rights violations.
– Instead of preventing people from being pushed back, Leggeri and his people have covered up that it happened. They lied to the EU Parliament and hid the fact that Frontex even used tax money from EU citizens to support the Greek practice, writes Der Spiegel.
The investigators from OLAF found at least six cases where the Greek coast guard used ships that were partly financed by Frontex to push migrants back to sea. In one case, a Frontex plane filmed the coast guard towing an inflatable boat with 30 migrants towards Turkish waters – despite the fact that they were supposed to be taken to Greece.
Removed surveillance aircraft
Instead of confronting the Greeks, Frontex stopped patrolling the air over the Aegean Sea and claimed it was used for the surveillance planes elsewhere, writes Der Spiegel.
However, on a handwritten note found by the investigators, it is stated that the planes were withdrawn, so that Frontex would not witness the illegal Greek practice.
The Greek government has consistently denied that it is pushing migrants back. Migration Minister Notis Mitarachi of Greece told the media on Thursday that he has not read the OLAF report, only a summary of it.
– The summary does not directly accuse Greece of having done anything wrong. We have the right to protect our borders. The EU has the right to protect its external border, he says.
– Not in line with European law
On a visit to Frontex’s offices during an official visit to Athens, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said:
– Although I obviously cannot confirm in detail what happened in each individual case … there have been cases of return pressure that is not in line with European law.
– We have taken this up today, so that we can have more human rights observers on site, she adds.
A spokesperson for the European Commission says measures have already been taken to address questions about the management of Frontex.
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