Swiss Review / April 2022 / No.2 17 Politics THEODORA PETER “When I think of Frontex, I mainly think of violence,” says Malek Ossi. The 28-year-old Syrian, who fled to Switzerland via Turkey six years ago, is a member of the Migrant Solidarity Network, which has forced a referendum opposing an increase in Switzerland’s contribution to the budget of Frontex, the European Border and Coast GuardAgency. Ossi spoke to the onlinemagazine “Republik” about the odyssey that brought him to Switzerland via the Balkan route. “I know what it means when the Turkish military are behind you and the Greek police are waiting for you up ahead.” He hid in the forest for aweekwith dozens of other refugees before attempting to cross the Evros river border, which was being guarded by the Greek and Frontex police at the time. Ossi eventually managed to get into Europe, but many others failed to reach the EU border. Refugees repeatedly complain of being driven back by border guards. For example, there are documented cases of Greek coastguards in the Aegean pushing migrants in dinghies back into Turkish waters. These so-called pushbacks violate the European Convention on Human Rights and the Geneva Refugee Convention, which states that refugees must be allowed to file an asylum application and have the right to due process. In other words, anyone seeking asylum should at least be able to do just that. Asylumand human rights organisations accuse Frontex of tolerating or even being involved in illegal pushbacks by police forces. A European Parliament committee has now called for greater monitoring and transparency. Schengen obligation Last autumn, the federal parliament also addressed Frontex’s role along the EU’s external borders. As amember of Schengen, Switzerland has been making financial contributions to Frontex since 2011. As such, it has a responsibility to help fund the EU border agency’s budget increase. The expansion of Frontex will involve building up a standing corps of 10,000 operational staff by 2027. Switzerland has been paying 14 million Swiss francs a year until now. Parlia- “Fortress Europe” under scrutiny Parliament has made the contentious decision to increase Switzerland’s monetary contribution to Frontex, the European Union agency that secures the EU’s external borders. The electorate will give its verdict on 15 May. A no vote could lead to further tension with Brussels. Frontex, shown here patrolling the Greek-Turkish border, wants to build up a standing corps of 10,000 operational staff. Photo: Keystone
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