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EU border agency chief Fabrice Leggeri is resigning following the release of initial findings from a long-running watchdog probe into misconduct at the agency, according to multiple people familiar with the matter.
Leggeri has led the agency, Frontex, since 2015. In recent years, Frontex has come under significant scrutiny for its alleged role in illegally turning migrants away at the EU’s borders, a practice known as pushbacks. Frontex has also faced allegations of harassment and misconduct within the agency itself.
The EU anti-fraud watchdog, OLAF, has been investigating the accusations for over a year and is now preparing its final conclusions.
Investigators have already presented the first part of the report, which centers on pushbacks. While the details have been kept tightly under wraps, several officials said it contained detailed evidence that the agency violated internal rules intended to protect human rights — and that senior leadership knew about the violations.
In a press release on Friday afternoon, Frontex confirmed Leggeri’s departure, adding that since he had already stepped down, it “is not necessary anymore” to launch further disciplinary procedures. The agency said Leggeri’s deputy, Aija Kalnaja, will temporarily take over the top job, but stressed: “the period of deputising should be limited.”
One EU official said Leggeri is not the only top official involved in the report that has stepped down.
Leggeri’s downfall came after a Thursday meeting of the Frontex board, composed of representatives from EU countries.
Officials from more moderate countries like Sweden berated the agency chief, while representatives from more hardline countries like Hungary, Poland and Greece defended his record. Notably, Sweden is the home country of Home Commissioner Ylva Johansson, who oversees Frontex.
During the meeting, Leggeri complained that EU countries are trying to turn Frontex into an NGO, according to multiple officials.
Some of these officials said Leggeri’s end was hastened after he apparently lost support from his own country, France.
A German interior ministry spokesperson confirmed Leggeri’s departure, calling it an opportunity for a “fresh start” at the agency.
“It offers the possibility of fully resolving the allegations, creating complete transparency and ensuring that all missions by Frontex occur in full conformity with European law,” Maximilian Kall told reporters in Berlin on Friday.
The resignation occurred shortly after the release of a joint media investigation that revealed more details about potential Frontex involvement in pushbacks. The report, based on a freedom of information request made to the agency, detailed a Frontex database that included descriptions of 145 cases labeled “prevention of departure” — incidents that mirrored pushbacks.
It was far from the first such report from media outlets and NGOs.
Leggeri’s departure caps a multi-year stretch that has seen Frontex repeatedly embroiled in controversy, creating yet another source of friction within the EU as the bloc grapples with the fractious issue of migration.
Frontex had been conceived of as a front-line agency to help the EU better manage a surge in migrants arriving on its borders — not to generate negative headlines.
While the agency was founded in 2004, it was given a more robust mandate in the wake of the 2015 migrant crisis, which saw over 1 million asylum seekers come to the Continent. The EU directed the agency to create a 10,000-strong corps of border and coast guards.
But as Frontex staffed up, the agency repeatedly found itself facing allegations of misconduct over everything from its own internal policies and workplace culture to its treatment of asylum seekers arriving in Europe.
The agency was dogged by accounts of a chaotic recruitment process, with recruits saying their deployments were suddenly canceled and others saying job offers were suddenly withdrawn.
Investigators also targeted Leggeri and his head of Cabinet, Thibauld de La Haye Jousselin, looking into accounts of harassment and misconduct at the agency’s headquarters.
And that was all on top of the reports of complicity in pushbacks.
Members of the European Parliament called for Leggeri to step down. Migrant advocates echoed the call.
Throughout it all, Leggeri denied the pushback charges and said there was no evidence the agency’s staff took part in illegal activities.
But the initial OLAF findings and mounting reports of malfeasance seemed to have eventually turned the tide, prompting Leggeri and others to leave their posts.
Hans von der Burchard contributed reporting.
