Frontex chief Hans Leijtens vows to change organisation’s culture within three years

Two years into his role, Frontex's Executive Director Hans Leijtens tells Euronews his ambition to alteration the civilization of the organisation volition instrumentality the afloat 3 years near until the extremity of his word of office.

He says interior transparency is "pivotal" — and successful a determination against a existent US-led trend, helium says Frontex needs to amended clasp sex and individuality diversity.  

"It's astir recruitment, it is astir being a just organisation, being a divers organisation, some successful gender, but besides successful nationalities", helium tells the Europe Conversation.

"Culture is precise hard to change, but I deliberation we're making steps close now. I deliberation that it volition instrumentality for definite the remainder of my mandate, which is different 3 years, to truly alteration it." 

For respective years, Frontex has been synonymous with "pushbacks", the argumentation of driving migrant ships intercepted successful the Mediterranean backmost retired of EU waters, wherever radical crossing to Europe successful dangerously overcrowded oregon flimsy vessels routinely drown. 

In 2022, a study from OLAF the EU's anti-fraud bureau recovered Frontex covered up amerciable "pushbacks" of migrants by the Greek coastguard portion the organisation was led by Leijtens' predecessor, Fabrice Leggeri.

Leijtens maintains that Frontex indispensable enactment wrong a peculiar mandate, and that the seashore defender of the authorities – often Greece – has its ain responsibilities.

"Indeed, we spot and we besides observe ourselves that sometimes determination are incidents", helium says successful narration to galore occasions erstwhile radical drown successful either European oregon planetary waters. 

He said helium would similar if Greece complied with planetary instrumentality successful the matter. As things stand, the Greek authorities are accused of 13 imaginable quality rights violations with Frontex, and the organisation has considered slashing its funding.  

"I would similar successful Greece to hap what I would person similar to hap each state with which we cooperate, that they comply with the rules and that if determination is an incidental and that tin happen, that it is duly investigated and that it has consequences", helium said. 

The Europe Conversation asks Leijtens astir the notorious lawsuit of the Adriana ship, which capsized and sank successful planetary waters disconnected the Greek seashore successful June 2023, sidesplitting 600 people. He responds that Frontex alerted the Greek authorities to what was happening, and that his bureau was not liable for the brutal aftermath.

"I was myself successful the monitoring country erstwhile we archetypal spotted the ship. So I saw it myself the time earlier it went down", helium says. "What we tin bash past is erstwhile we had a plane, we tin inform, successful this case, the Greek authorities astir what we see. We cannot coordinate."  

Nonetheless, determination volition ever beryllium 1 glaring question: whether determination is thing much Frontex could person done to prevention the lives of those successful danger, fixed Leijtens and his squad were alert of the Adriana's presence.

"Back past we had 1 drone flying, 1 level flying, and we were instructed to spell to different incidental southbound of Crete", helium says. 

"We projected to the Greek authorities to nonstop different level twice. We person been already wide astir that from the time aft the incident, that we projected this to the Greeks, and some times was ignored by the Greek authority."  

"That's their decision."