POLITICO and the German newspaper Die Welt have revealed that the European Union’s border and coast guard agency Frontex, is considering disciplinary action against Greece over repeated allegations of migrant pushbacks. Greece currently has 13 open cases concerning alleged human rights violations involving migrants—the highest number among EU countries.
Nearly one-third of Frontex’s 56 open cases in 2024 involve Greece, many linked with forced removals of “thousands” of migrants at Greece’s sea and land borders. Pushbacks are illegal under the 1951 United Nations Refugee Convention.
Jonas Grimheden, Frontex’s Fundamental Rights Officer, stated that Greece’s actions have placed Frontex in a difficult position, leaving it with two options: either Frontex will suspend its operations in Greece, or it will formally request Brussels to begin infringement proceedings.
However, Grimheden emphasized that withdrawing the agency would eliminate the necessary oversight regarding treatment of migrants. “If Frontex were to leave Greece, there would no longer be any way to learn how the authorities are dealing with arriving migrants. The agency ensures monitoring and transparency,” Grimheden said.
Grimheden also suggested that Athens’ access to EU funds could be linked to progress on migrants’ human rights. The European Commission could even initiate legal proceedings before the Court of Justice of the EU.
In January, the European Court of Human Rights ruled against Greece for conducting systematic pushbacks in violation of human rights laws. Frontex itself has also faced misconduct allegations related to migrant handling in 2022, which lead to the resignation of its then-chief Fabrice Leggeri.
Hellenic Coast Guard, Press Officer Nikolaos Alexiou told POLITICO that, “In the event of possible deviations from the required behavior, internal investigation and monitoring mechanisms are triggered, independently of or in parallel with the judicial proceedings or investigations conducted by other competent authorities. The Greek coast guard fully cooperates with these authorities.”
The European Commission had not yet commented on the matter.
Cover Photo Credit: NASA Earth Observatory
