Eduardo Cabrita was dropped from the race to lead Frontex, the European Border and Coast Guard Agency. The news is brought forward by Renascença, who confirmed the information with the source of the process. Information that the DN also has that he had tried, unsuccessfully, to confirm to himself.
There are now three names left short list and it is already certain that that of the former interior minister is not on the final list of candidates.
As some sources with knowledge of the process had already informed DN, the former minister will have been sidelined in the pre-selection phase.
DN tried to confirm this information with Eduardo Cabrita, but the former minister remained silent and would not comment “on an ongoing tender”.
The selection process started in April; months later, Eduardo Cabrita presented an individual candidacy for the position – something that the current holder of the portfolio has already confirmed in response to Rui Tavares, from Livre, in the state budget audition: “This is a personal candidacy”.
Remember that the HuBB collective – Humans Before Bordershad condemned the candidacy of former minister Eduardo Cabrita, considering that a possible Portuguese leadership in this organization embarrasses Portugal🇧🇷
The non-governmental organization recalled the behavior of the former minister in charge of the Immigration and Borders Service in March 2020 when the Ukrainian citizen, Ihor Homenyukdied in the SEF facilities at Lisbon airport, lamenting that Eduardo Cabrita “did not take on any responsibilities on that occasion and always resisted the resignation requests he accepted months later for other reasons”.
Asked about the criteria for choosing this senior official, the Frontex spokeswoman pointed to the regulation of the European Coast Guard and Borders (EBCG), according to which “on a proposal from the Commission (…) the Governing Council shall appoint the Executive Director based on merit and documented senior administrative and management skills, including relevant professional experience in border management external and return”.
all the spokesperson for the European Commission for Internal Securityrefused to confirm whether Cabrita was still in the running, adding only that “the procedure for the appointment of the Frontex Executive Director is governed by Article 107 of the EBCG. The application deadline for the vacancy expired on 19 July. Since , the Commission has verified the suitability of the candidates and conducted the pre-selection interviews.
After completion of the internal procedures, the Commission intends to propose a list of at least three candidates for the position in early November. This will be followed by the hearing of candidates proposed by the LIBE Committee of the European Parliament (Rule 107(2)). The Commission hopes that the Management Board, after receiving the opinion of the EP, will be able to appoint the new Frontex Executive Director before the end of the year”.
Remember that in 2017 a Portuguese woman also applied for this position in, joined the short list with Fabrice Leggeri, who would later be elected (rejected anyway for “dishonesty” and “mismanagement”, due to suspicions of involvement in the violation of the human rights of immigrants).
Ana Cristina Jorge, Coordinating Inspector of the SEF, applied without any support from the government, was finally approved and since 2018 is the Operational Director of Frontex, the main executive function of the Agency.
Source: DN
