Updated on 01/20/2023 10:12 am
- Frontex’s designated chief Hans Leijtens wants to “restore confidence”.
- Illegal practices at the EU border protection agency are repeatedly reported.
After revelations about illegal practices at Frontex, the EU’s border protection agency, the agency’s designated head, Hans Leijtens, wants to “restore trust”. In addition to effectively protecting the borders, this is his priority, the Dutch lieutenant general said in Brussels on Thursday. Frontex has been criticized for numerous allegations of human rights violations at the EU’s external borders.
Leijtens: “Border protection and human rights go hand in hand”
“Border protection and human rights go hand in hand”, emphasized Leijtens. The 59-year-old assured that he wanted to ensure that Frontex officials did not participate in any action that would lead to the repulsion of migrants at the external borders. Among other things, Frontex is accused of so-called pushbacks – illegal and sometimes violent deportations of asylum seekers to third countries, for example, from Greece.
EU Interior Commissioner Ylva Johansson said at the joint appearance with Leijtens that Frontex should also help save lives, for example in the Mediterranean. Since the beginning of the year, 30 migrants have died during the dangerous crossing.
Leijtens will take up his new role at Frontex headquarters in Warsaw on 1 March. Until now, he has been in charge of the Dutch military police and is also responsible for protecting national borders. © AFP