FRONTEX responds to Homo Digitalis' Request for Access to Information on EUROSUR and the deadly shipwreck in Pylos
In June 2023, Homo Digitalis had filed a request for access to documents before FRONTEX in order to explore whether the EUROSUR system, which is composed of drones and satellites, among other technologies, was in operation during the fatal ship’s voyage from 9 to 13 June in the Mediterranean Sea and the reasons why it did not prevent this fatal shipwreck.
Today, FRONTEX replies that the EUROSUR system, despite being fully operational, has not been able to do what it promises, namely to detect large vessels that may be used by criminal organisations to transport people in the Mediterranean, putting the lives of the latter at high risk. This is a major revelation by Homo Digitalis, demonstrating that the very expensive – tens of millions of euros – solutions promised by technology companies to complex issues such as border management and the protection of people who put their lives at risk have failed. EUROSUR failed to locate the large floating vessel, despite the fact that it had been right in its field of control for more than 3 full 24 hours.
You can see the text of the reply we received here.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs does not respond to Homo Digitalis on PREDATOR
On 11 October 2022, Homo Digitalis submitted a request to the Directorate for Multilateral Economic Relations and Trade Policy of the General Secretariat for International Economic Relations and Externalisation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
We sought information on the approval/rejection of dual-use technology export license requests, as well as the country of destination of the end user. It was a strategic action in order to find out with statistical data whether technologies such as PREDATOR had been given the green light for export by the Greek authorities.
We received no response to our request, despite the fact that European legislation, and in particular Article 23 of Regulation 2021/821, provides for the keeping of relevant statistical data by the competent authorities of the Member States.
On 30 November 2022, a months-long investigation, the result of Inside Story.’s collaboration with the investigative journalism organisation Lighthouse Reports and the Israeli newspaper Haaretz brings to light that an aircraft linked to the Israeli PREDATOR tycoon delivered surveillance technology to notorious paramilitaries in Sudan in May 2022.
Yesterday, the deputy foreign minister said in a radio interview with Real FM that “”The export license given to Predator and Sudan has nothing to do with the civil war. The civil war was not caused by it.”