On a more personal note: Unlike numerous politicians and powerful Greeks, some of whom excel in feverish patriotism, I did serve in the army, for two years, as an officer, spending a big chunk at the Evros border like most ordinary Greeks. 1/
https://twitter.com/g_christides/status/1331497210727583744
I have great respect for the 1000s of Greece’s underpaid and dutiful uniformed men and women in the army and police and of the challenges they face at Europe’s most militarised border, working i.a. under a constant risk of armed confrontation 2/
I am also not a “defund Frontex” enthusiast. I am old enough to remember when it was fashionable in Greece to demand Europeans should finally guard our "common borders" 3/
Greece, an over-indebted and relatively poor nation, keeps spending inordinate amounts of money on armaments (making a lot people rich, including arms dealers, intermediaries and the occasional politician) to that end 4/
Frontex also provides vital assistance to overstrained Greek border guards in several places without any incident, incl. at the border with North Macedonia. Its presence sends a message of EU solidarity to Greece and perhaps also augments the country’s defence capabilities. 5/
But this doesn't mean a democratic society like Greece or a self-styled beacon of human rights like the EU can tolerate a Machiavellian approach of “ends justifying the means”. Due process and accountability are vital. Frontex, Brussels and EP need to get to the bottom of this
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