Frontex’s Deputy Executive Director Aija Kalnaja told members of the European Parliament’s Committee on Civil Liberties on Monday 30 May that the “change of culture” within the agency “will not happen overnight”, but that Frontex can “no longer repeat” the “mismanagement” that led to the resignation of Fabrice Leggeri (see EUROPE 12942/1) on 29 April.
While a new interim Executive Director will be appointed next week, pending Mr Leggeri’s permanent replacement, the Deputy Director also emphasised that the agency’s reputational problems over allegations of migrant pushback had “traumatised” some of its staff, “who no longer want to come to work”.
“We have to change our approach, our way of working”, insisted the Deputy Director, adding that everything is being done to increase transparency and “share information”.
It’s a question of “the survival of border management in Europe; this is well understood in the agency”. Frontex staff nevertheless “respect the rule of law” and the agency has to operate in a context of increasing violence and “the instrumentalisation of migration”, Aija Kalnaja said, adding that sharing information on the agency’s activities, especially with the European Parliament, has its limits.
“Information should be given as long as it does not interfere with the operational activities of our agency”, Ms Kalnaja said. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)