The European coastguard and border guard agency Frontex has reportedly supported migrant refoulement operations off the coast of Turkey, according to an investigation by EuObserver based on a right to information request.
Having had access to internal emails about an operation conducted in March by Danish border guards under Frontex, the news site shows that a request from the Greek authorities to the Danish vessel to send back a group of rescued migrants to Turkish territorial waters was transmitted via Frontex. A request that the Danes had judged risky, according to the e-mail made public, and which was finally cancelled by Frontex, the site shows.
These facts involving the Danish vessel had recently been cited by the head of the Frontex agency (see EUROPE 12590/4) when launching the internal investigation into the accusations of refoulements in the Aegean Sea.
Fabrice Leggeri explained that this “incident” with the Danish border guards was a “misunderstanding” and that the refoulement allegations had been cleared up. The Head of the agency had spoken of incorrect instructions received by the Greek authorities.
The European Commission had made no official comments on this information at the time we went to press, nor had it responded to EUROPE’s requests. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)