Illegal action by German police belonging to Frontex on the island of Samos

A Samos local newspaper, the Samiaki Gnomi, reported on 12 June 2016 that on Wednesday 08.06.2016, in the area of Kerveli, at the Posidonio — Paleokastro intersection in the interior of the island of Samos, German police bearing the insignia ‘Polizei’, who are operating in Samos as part of and under the authority of Frontex, set up a road block and illegally stopped a passing car and checked the ID of the driver, a Greek citizen.

Moreover, as the newspaper investigation has stated, this is the second confirmed case of unlawful action by Frontex staff, as a similar incident involving an ID check on a Greek citizen reportedly occurred in the summer of 2015.

This illegal action by German police operating with Frontex constitutes an act of provocation for the local community of Samos and a flagrant violation of Greek national sovereignty since acts relating to the exercise of public authority for the protection of public order and domestic security — such as controlling and verifying the identity of Greek citizens — are exclusively a matter for the Greek Police.

In view of the above, will the Commission say:

What steps will it take to stop German police belonging to Frontex acting illegally in this way and oblige them to respect Greek and EC law?

Answer given by Mr Avramopoulos on behalf of the Commission

The Commission has requested Frontex to provide the elements of the reply to the Honourable Member’s question on an alleged incident involving German guest officers deployed by Frontex on the island of Samos.

The Commission will send the agency’s reply to the Honourable Member as soon as possible.