Frontex officials speak in the 129-page report from February. They say the Greek coast guard seriously endangered the lives of boat migrants and refugees by pushing their often rickety boats back into Turkish waters, known as pushbacks. This pushed them out of the European Union, where they hoped to apply for asylum. Frontex employees are said to have increasingly failed to officially report such “incidents”. Frontex is said to have withdrawn at certain times “not to witness”, Der Spiegel quoted the report as saying.
Following the OLAF report, then-director Fabrice Leggeri resigned in April. In this way he escaped a disciplinary case. The European Commission says it is in constant contact with Greece. “All these allegations must be investigated, and there must be robust oversight,” said a spokeswoman.