BRUSSELS (AP) — The brand new executive director of European Union border agency Frontex pledged Thursday to make sure that illegal pushbacks of migrants trying to succeed in Europe would not happen under his watch.
Hans Leijtens was appointed as a substitute for Fabrice Leggeri, who resigned last 12 months following media allegations that the agency was involved in that practice. A report by EU anti-fraud watchdog OLAF into Frontex later concluded that employees from the agency were involved in covering up pushbacks of migrants from Greece to Turkey.
Pushbacks — forcing would-be refugees away from a border before they’ll reach a rustic and claim asylum — are considered violations of international refugee protection agreements, which say people shouldn’t be expelled or returned to a rustic where their life and safety is likely to be in peril due to their race, religion, nationality or being members of a social or political group.
“Pushbacks by Frontex officers will not be legal. They’re forbidden,” Leijtens said during a news conference with Ylva Johansson, the EU commissioner for home affairs. “I’m answerable for the undeniable fact that my people don’t take part in … pushbacks.”
Leijtens will start his recent job on March 1.
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In response to the OLAF report made public in October, top managers at Frontex committed “serious misconduct and other irregularities” in covering up pushback incidents, not investigating them or not handling them appropriately.
Leijtens said “there may be nothing secret about Frontex” and that he would promote a nothing-to-hide attitude while improving transparency and putting an end to “defensive attitudes.”
“We will not do our work after we will not be trusted,” he said.
Leijtens’ nomination comes because the EU’s 27 member countries struggle to make progress in discussions over a long-delayed overhaul of the bloc’s asylum system proposed by the EU’s executive arm greater than two years ago.
The variety of attempts by migrants to enter the EU without authorization reached around 330,000 last 12 months, the very best number since 2016, the EU’s border and coast guard agency said last week.
Johansson said the rise is principally because of the arrivals of residents likely not in need of international protection, who must be returned to their country of origin.
“Frontex is well equipped to really support the member states,” she said, adding that the agency last 12 months carried out the return of 25,000 people.
Johansson added that she is going to next week present a recent strategy on returns next week before a summit of EU leaders in February. She also exhorted EU countries to step up their cooperation with Frontex for a greater management of returns.
Johansson cited an increase in arrivals to the EU by Bangladeshis, with most of them not in need of international protection. She said that after Bangladesh was placed on an inventory of visas sanctions, local authorities improved their cooperation and are actually open to taking back their residents.
“But we’re also in a situation where member states only do readmission requests for about 10% to twenty% of the return decisions” she said. “And when Frontex are flying the planes to Bangladesh (…), they will not be full. When we have now a political momentum with a 3rd country, it is important that we work together: (the European) Commission, Frontex, all member states, to essentially make these returns occur.”
Johansson and Leijtens were also asked about reports from nongovernmental organizations, which argue that the use by Frontex of aerial surveillance to enable the EU-trained Libyan coast guard to intercept boats carrying migrants makes the agency complicit within the abuse that refugees are exposed to once they’re returned to Libya.
Johansson responded that Frontex’s priority is to avoid wasting lives and may obviously warn coast guards in the event that they spot a vessel in peril.
“On the subject of Libya, there may be a special challenge due to the conditions in Libya,” she said. “That is why we don’t desire to depart people there.”
Johansson said that the EU is working with the United Nations and the African Union to make sure that that refugees are taken out of camps situated in Libya and resettled in higher locations elsewhere.
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