The EP Civil Liberties Committee is organising a hearing on Wednesday to assess the short-listed candidates for the post of Frontex Executive Director.
The three candidates shortlisted by the European Commission on the basis of the published vacancy – Terezija Gras from Croatia, Aija Kalnaja from Latvia, and Hans Leijtens from the Netherlands – will appear before the committee and reply to MEPs questions.
When: Wednesday 30 November 2022, 09:00 – 10:30 CET
Where: European Parliament in Brussels, Spaak Building, room 3C50
You can follow the debate here (live-stream and video on-demand).
Background
As foreseen by the Frontex rules, the selected candidates have been invited to make a statement and answer questions from members. Following the hearing, the opinion on the candidates will be presented to the Frontex Management board, responsible for the appointment of the Executive Director. MEPs may note their preference for a particular candidate and this would have to be taken into account by the agency’s board when making a decision. Should it decide to not appoint the Parliament’s preferred candidate, it would have to justify it in writing.
The position of the Executive Director became vacant following the resignation of Fabrice Leggeri in April 2022, with Aija Kalnaja currently in ad interim capacity.
In October, MEPs held a plenary debate on Frontex’s responsibility for fundamental rights violations at EU’s external borders, in light of the report by the anti-fraud EU agency OLAF.