Claims against Malta-based EU asylum agency dismissed after investigation
Employees had written to the European Commission claiming nepotism and mishandling of harassment claims
Allegations of mismanagement by the Malta-based European Union Agency for Asylum (EUAA) have been dismissed after a number of investigations.
The allegations surfaced in an anonymous letter, allegedly by agency employees in 2022, claiming nepotism and mishandling of harassment claims at the Malta-based asylum agency. The claims were reported in the Maltese media and London's Financial Times.
They were promptly denied by the agency's executive director, Nina Gregori, and the senior management.
The European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) opened an investigation and submitted its final report and recommendations to the chair of the EUAA Management Board at the end of last year.
The agency said on Tuesday that the Management Board, composed of 29 members from all EU member states and two from the European Commission has dismissed the case.
"The EUAA Management Board collectively examined all the information at its disposal, paying due attention to the context and circumstances, the explanations provided and the applicable legal framework. The Management Board also recognised that the concerns raised in the anonymous letter had largely already been checked by the European Courts of Auditors, the Internal Audit Service of the European Commission and the European Ombudsman and were already appropriately addressed," the agency said.
The board therefore decided not to initiate disciplinary proceedings against the EUAA Executive Director, or any other staff of the Agency but it upheld recommendations for efficiency of certain procedures to be improved. The overall human resources administration will be strengthened, the agency said.