European Parliament Not Allowed to Make Frontex Report Public

The European Parliament is allowed to view a report on violent actions by the European border guards Frontex, but not to make it public. The European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) recently produced a damning report about Frontex. This led to the resignation of then Frontex director Fabrice Leggeri in May.

Frontex (short for the French Frontières extérieures, ‘external borders’) has been criticized for its actions against migrants trying to reach Europe without valid documents. As early as 2011, Human Rights Watch called Frontex complicit in human rights violations. Frontex handed migrants at the Greek-Turkish border over to Greek authorities, who placed them in overcrowded detention centers.

Since the start of the coronavirus crisis, at least 2,000 people have lost their lives due to violent migrant pushbacks, reports The Guardian. In total, at least 40,000 migrants were pushed back from the European border, often using violence. Frontex assists EU countries with such “pushbacks.”

Dutch GreenLeft MEP Tineke Strik called it important that the European Parliament finally gains insight into the investigation. “But for real, public accountability, the report must also be made public. Europeans have the right to know how Frontex was involved in human rights violations and how this occurred.”

Strik has therefore submitted a request for publication. If Frontex refuses this, Strik will file a formal complaint with the European Ombudsman, who then investigates whether the confidentiality is justified. “If we want Frontex to function properly, it must be clear where it went wrong before and who was responsible,” Strik said.

In 2021, a parliamentary investigative committee led by Strik also looked into Frontex’s conduct. The committee already concluded then that Frontex management ignored evidence of pushbacks and in some cases even tried to conceal them.