The French delegation of the EPP (Les Républicains) wrote to the European Commissioner for Home Affairs, Ylva Johansson, on Friday 26 February, asking her to explain her criticisms of the director of Frontex, Fabrice Leggeri.
The group asks the Commissioner to detail the accusations, made in the European Parliament Committee on Budgetary Control on 22 February, that Mr Leggeri had blocked the hiring of staff dedicated to fundamental rights (see EUROPE 12664/30).
“Such a challenge, moreover coming from a public authority, presupposes solid and verified justifications”, writes the head of delegation, François-Xavier Bellamy. “Relaying such serious accusations about a European Agency without being able to back them up with indisputable facts would be tantamount to an attempt at destabilisation”, he added.
Frontex was due to have further staff reinforcements to deal with fundamental rights issues by the end of 2020, including 40 officers dedicated to this mission, but the Agency reported delays due to administrative practices. The Commissioner, on the other hand, attributes them to the unwillingness of the Agency’s Director.
The Commission confirmed receipt of this letter on 1 March. It will respond to it before 4 March, the date when the Commissioner will participate in the European Parliament’s fact-finding group, officially called the Frontex Scrutiny Working Group. On 5 March, a new Frontex Management Board will meet to discuss the latest findings on fundamental rights staff and accusations of so-called pushbacks.
Link to the letter in French: http://bit.ly/3q2IgE3 (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)