29/03/2022 (Agence Europe) – On 22 March, the European Parliament’s Committee on Civil Liberties (LIBE) appointed German EPP MEP Lena Düpont to succeed Malta’s Roberta Metsola as head of LIBE’s scrutiny group on the Frontex agency, according to a statement. The group was set up in early 2021, after numerous allegations such as those about the agency's pushback practices with the Greek coastguard. A final report was published in July (see EUROPE 12763/17), noting shortcomings in the reporting of serious incidents, but no evidence of pushbacks was found. The group “has done an important task in scrutinising Frontex, initiating changes within the agency. It is high time it took up this work and followed our recommendations, especially in the light of the current unprecedented challenges”, responded Ms Düpont. (SP)