For the second time, the European Parliament has rejected the 2020 annual accounts of the European Coast and Border Guard, Frontex. MEPs who didn’t approve the budget believe Frontex is still not doing enough to stop human rights violations at the European Union’s borders. For this reason, in May, Parliament also rejected the annual financial statements in the amount of 754 million euros.
Moreover, the rejection of the budget is primarily a symbolic gesture; it does not mean that Frontex will no longer receive any money.
“We can no longer tolerate public funds being used to break European and international laws,” said MEP Bas Eickhout (GroenLinks) in a press statement. Lara Wolters (PvdA), member of the Bundestag, writes that she hopes that the budget rejection will lead to a culture change at the border protection authority. “Frontex should not only protect the external borders of our EU, but also the human rights of everyone there.”
The vote on the budget came a day after 92 naked men were found by Greek border guards near the Evros border river between Greece and Turkey. Some of them were injured. In August, some 38 migrants were abandoned on an uninhabited island on the same border river. A 5-year-old girl was killed.
And in February, the Turkish Coast Guard also found the naked bodies of 19 frozen migrants near this river. In all cases, Greece and Turkey are blaming each other as the culprit.
Numerous reports have surfaced in recent years of migrants being forcibly held outside EU borders by European member states. This setbacks are illegal because they violate European migration and asylum law and because fundamental human rights are violated.
The then director of Frontex had already resigned in April because of the role played by the border protection agency in the pushbacks. Senior Frontex officials helped keep this secret, according to a report last week by Europe’s fraud watchdog, OLAF.
In addition, Frontex passed false information to the European Parliament and the European Commission. These are the two European institutions responsible for overseeing Frontex.
Source: NOS
I am David Miller, a highly experienced news reporter and author for 24 Instant News. I specialize in opinion pieces and have written extensively on current events, politics, social issues, and more. My writing has been featured in major publications such as The New York Times, The Guardian, and BBC News. I strive to be fair-minded while also producing thought-provoking content that encourages readers to engage with the topics I discuss.
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