The EU watchdog has launched an investigation into the role of the European border and coastguard agency in Mediterranean search and rescue operations after at least 500 people drowned off the coast of Greece last month when their boat capsized.
Emily O’Reilly, the European ombudsman, has opened the inquiry on her own initiative amid continuing conflicting reports about what some have described as a preventable tragedy.
She has also revealed she will be seeking more information about the recent controversial deal between the EU and Tunisia on border management including the human rights impact of certain activities covered by the agreement.
O’Reilly has asked to inspect a wide range of Frontex documents including the serious incident report relating to 14 June, when the Adriana sank off the coast of Messenia. She is coordinating her inquiry with Greek ombudsman Andreas Pottakis.
O’Reilly said: “While the Greek authorities’ role is being investigated at the national level, Frontex’s role in search and rescue operation also needs to be clarified. It has been reported that in this instance Frontex alerted the Greek authorities to the ship’s presence and offered assistance but it is not clear what else it could or should have done.”
The European Commission has already called for an independent inquiry into the Messenia boat disaster of the after describing an internal investigation by the Greek authorities as inadequate.
However, the scale of the tragedy has also renewed questions about the role of Frontex and its exact role in operations in the Mediterranean. Some survivors allege that the Greek coastguard caused the Adriana to capsize by tying a rope to the drifting vessel and then driving off at high power.
Greece’s government denies the allegation and has opened two investigations, one into smugglers it blames for the disaster and the other into the actions of the Greek coastguard.
On Wednesday, O’Reilly said: “A tragedy of this magnitude requires all those involved to reflect on their responsibilities and to be clear to the public who is accountable for these deaths. My office will focus on the role of Frontex as we try to piece together the events that led to the capsizing of the boat and the deaths of at least 500 people.”
This month, Hans Leijtens, the executive director of Frontex, told a European parliament committee that a plane with limited fuel and then a drone used by his agency Frontex were diverted to overfly the boat.
Leijtens said the drone, which pulled away to observe another boat, returned to find the Adriana “already had sunk”. He added: “We offered to help, but there was no response from Greek authorities.”
Frontex said it looked forward to cooperating fully with O’Reilly but pointed out it did not coordinate search and rescue operations, which were the responsibility of national agencies.
But it added: “Nevertheless, Frontex sees the rescue of lives at sea as one of its essential roles and provides all the necessary support to national authorities when needed. This means Frontex vessels conduct search and rescue operations when called upon. In addition, both Frontex vessels and aircraft provide rescue centres and rescuers with information vital to saving lives. Just this year, Frontex helped to rescue nearly 28,000 people.”
According to the agency, the central Mediterranean remains the most active route into the EU, with nearly 66,000 detections reported by national authorities in the first six months of 2023, up 137% on 2022.
