Head of the Border Agency EU Frontex Fabrice Leggerie resigned following harsh criticism of his human rights record and fraud investigation.
Fabrice Leggeri, who was denounced by the European Parliament last year, announced his resignation in a letter to the agency’s board. “I am returning my mandate to the board of directors as it appears that the Frontex mandate under which I was elected and renewed in June 2019 has been subtly but effectively changed,” Leggery wrote in a letter seen by Guardian.
According to the letter, his resignation has not yet been accepted by the Frontex board, which held an emergency meeting to discuss his position on Friday.
The resignation also followed a separate investigation by EU anti-fraud agency Olaf. A spokesman confirmed that the investigation into Frontex was closed on February 15, but declined to comment further, citing confidentiality rules to protect those involved and “the possible continuation of administrative and judicial proceedings.” It remains unclear whether criticism from human rights groups and Olaf’s investigation played any role in his decision to leave.
Today, after more than 2 years of investigations by @LHReports, the head of the EU’s border agency Frontex resigned. Small teams working in Europe’s public interest can make a big difference. Explainer in short 🧵 pic.twitter.com/4mkMHfiwue
— Lighthouse Reports (@LHreports) April 29, 2022
German MEP Birgit Zippel, who represents the Socialist Home Affairs group, said Leggery’s resignation was long overdue, reports the Guardian.
30 March 2022 Greece’s independent transparency body declaredthat, after a thorough investigation, he found no basis for reports that the Greek authorities were illegally returning asylum seekers entering the country from Turkey.
Based on this, Laggery’s resignation turns into revenge on the part of those interested in the arrival of new “refugees” (and, in fact, illegal migrants) to Europe. After all, this is not only big money, but also an important factor in global politics, which has a lot of influential supporters.
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