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Will the EU's border agency, Frontex, leave Greece after the latest migrant boat tragedy?

2023-06-29 07:53:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Will the EU's border agency, Frontex, leave Greece after the latest migrant

The agency's human rights officer has recommended that Frontex temporarily suspend its activity in Greece following the latest migrant boat tragedy. But this measure may not be the best option to keep the Greek authorities under control.

Frontex, the European Union's powerful border agency, is considering temporarily suspending its activity in Greece after a ship capsized off the country's coast earlier this month, one of the biggest tragedies in the Mediterranean in years.

The idea was suggested by Frontex's fundamental rights officer, Jonas Grimheden, during the agency's governing board meeting between June 20 and 21, as first reported by French newspaper Le Monde.

The recommendation by the human rights officer comes after an overcrowded fishing boat capsized on June 14, killing hundreds of people on board. Officials have recovered the bodies of 82 people, while hundreds are still considered missing. Of the 750 people thought to have been on board the ship, only 104 were rescued and survived the tragedy.

The Greek authorities were heavily criticized for the tragedy. Testimony from survivors said the Greek coastguard had moored the vessel and tried to tow it before it capsized, a move that is highly unusual in these cases and which witnesses said caused the boat to rock.

Greek authorities denied that this happened. But Frontex has been among the most skeptical critics of the Greek authorities' role in the tragedy. The agency said it has launched a "serious incident report" seeking to document possible human rights violations in Greece's response to the emergency.

What would happen if Frontex decided to leave?

There are currently 518 Frontex corps officers and staff working on the Greek mainland and islands, according to the agency, which also deploys 11 boats and 30 patrol cars.

Christopher Szabla, Assistant Professor of International Law at Durham Law School in the United Kingdom, told Euronea that he can imagine two consequences of the possible suspension of Frontex activities in Greece: one reputational and the other practical. Reputationally, "Frontex has not exactly been known often for a rights-first approach, but it embodies an attempt to balance between migration control and rights that, many observers have argued, has placed more emphasis on control," said Szabla.

On the practical side, Szabla said, the Greek government could suffer direct material consequences from the border agency deciding to leave its territory.

Szabla believes there is a "paradox" in withdrawing Frontex from Greece, as doing so will prevent it from continuing to independently monitor the activities of the Greek border forces or pressuring the Greek government to act more human and following international law.

In this case, Greece could say it is overstretched without Frontex's help and can no longer effectively patrol the EU's external border, a move that would undermine Frontex's missions in both border control and rights, according to Szabla./ CNA