EU criticizes border agency over human rights abuses in Greece
Members of the European Parliament voted to postpone approving the European border and coastguard agency accounts for 2020 due to issues in two EU member states.
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The Parliament's decision comes a week after Frontex Director Fabrice Leggeri submitted his resignation amid an EU anti-fraud body report
Over its failure to investigate alleged human rights violations against asylum seekers in Greece, the European Parliament postponed signing off the EU border agency - Frontex - accounts, The Guardian reported.
The Parliament's decision comes a week after Frontex Director Fabrice Leggeri submitted his resignation amid an EU anti-fraud body (OLAF) report that showed concern about the agency's inability to protect asylum seekers’ human rights.
While approving the budgets of multiple other EU agencies, members of the European Parliament (MEPs) voted to postpone approving Frontex accounts for 2020.
Member of the European Parliament's civil liberties, justice and home affairs committee, Saskia Bricmont, tweeted that “The resignation of [Frontex] director last week does not address structural problems, nor the agency’s contribution to the Fortress Europe policy.”
No financial consequences
Based in Poland, Frontex - the European border and coastguard agency - is "Now one of the EU’s best-funded agencies, it had an annual budget of €364m (£307m) in 2020, up 10% on the previous year. There are plans to expand it further, to 10,000 border and coastguards by 2027," The Guardian indicated.
The newspaper pointed out that "the delay in approving its accounts has no financial consequences for the agency, but is a form of political censure that empowers MEPs to issue recommendations to its new director."
Frontex did not evaluate its activities in Greece
In a report, the European parliament’s budgetary control committee explained that the delay in approving the agency's accounts is due to issues in two EU member states.
Despite multiple national, EU and UN reports warning the agency from operating in areas where “fundamental rights violations” were taking place, Frontex “did not evaluate its activities."
The agency was also "criticized for not suspending its operations in Hungary, despite a 2020 ruling by the European court of justice that Budapest was failing to implement EU law to protect asylum seekers." The Guardian noted.
Failing to achieve gender balance
In addition, Frontex was criticized for failing to achieve gender balance, as MEPs were concerned that three-quarters of senior managers in the agency were men.
The European border and coastguard agency was also urged to hold people accountable for 17 reported cases of harassment.
According to The Guardian "MEPs also implicitly rebuked EU authorities for not giving them access to the findings of the EU anti-fraud agency, which opened an investigation in 2019 into alleged harassment, misconduct and illegal pushbacks of asylum seekers by Frontex."
It is noteworthy that the European Parliament's resolution criticizing Frontex passed with 492 votes. Center-right, center-left, liberals, green and radical left groups agreed on the report, while 145 MEPs from conservative nationalist and far-right parties opposed it.
