Greece may lose funding from Frontex as its border organization European Union It investigates 12 open cases of possible violations of human rights of immigrants at its borders, the highest number in the ongoing investigations by country carried out by the EU.

The majority of cases relate to complaints about forced deportations of thousands of people from Greek migration authorities to the land and sea borders, a practice known as pushbacks (Returns), which is illegal under the UN Convention on Refugees and International Law.

Frontex said it would submit specific proposals to Greece for implementation with possible consequences in the event of non -compliance.

“The FRONTEX Executive Director has stated that he is awaiting the implementation of all these recommendations. Otherwise, it will consider a reduction or interruption of funding for co -financed media, “said Chris Borovsky, a spokesman for the EU border organization, Frontex. The co -financed media refers to a number of vessels of the Hellenic Coast Guard.

Officials from the Hellenic Port and the Greek Government did not respond to a request for commentary.

In January 2025, the European Court of Human Rights He held that the Greek authorities were guilty of conducting systematic re -refunds of immigrants, violating human rights legislation. The EU has previously called on Greece to investigate complaints about abandoning immigrants at sea and deporting by its authorities.

“We now place the fundamental rights at the heart of these negotiations. In the past, this debate was taking place towards the end of the negotiations, so it was treated as a secondary issue. But now they are really the core of the negotiations, “Borovsky said.

In 2023, hundreds of immigrants are believed to have died in the sea when a fishing boat sank off Pylos, trying to reach Europe from Libya. Citizen’s lawyer Andreas Pottakis began an independent investigation into the shipwreck, after the Coast Guard explicitly refused to conduct his own, despite pressure from Frontex. Independent research recommended the imposition of disciplinary sanctions on eight ports involved in the incident.

Frontex’s fundamental rights, Jonas Grimheden, then proposed the temporary suspension of the organization’s activities in Greece.

The Greek government has denied the charges.

“We really have to work together to continue to improve our cooperation in ways that are effective,” Borovsky said. “There are two sides of the same coin: the protection of the border, but also the protection of our values, the fundamental rights, respecting the dignity of the people with whom we come into contact.”