Why is this important?

Luisa Izuzquiza and Arne Semsrott tried to watch the watchers, a secretive, well-funded EU body, Frontex, in charge of Europe’s borders, both the surveillance and human rights aspect. [1]

They asked for very simple information - what type of boats does Frontex have in the Mediterranean, an area where human lives are needlessly lost every year and where NGOs are no longer welcome? Frontex repeatedly refused to give this information, so they took them to court. [2]

Not only did they not get an answer, they lost. As a clear threat against appealing this decision, Frontex sent them a clear message -- €23,700.81 bill for legal fees to be paid in two days. European public institutions almost never send legal bills to citizens! [3]

Thankfully, Frontex likely hates one thing more than information requests -- bad publicity.

Luisa and Arne have a plan to spread their story across Europe. But it would be so much more powerful if this isn’t just their struggle, but all of ours. All it takes is your signature to stand with them and let Frontex know Europeans don’t respond well to bullies.

*This petition text originally read €24,000 but was updated on 26.02.2020 at 17:30 with the precise amount of €23,700.81.

References:

1. https://correctiv.org/en/top-stories-en/2019/08/15/frontex-watching-the-watchers/
   https://www.asktheeu.org/en/request/frontex_vessels_under_jo_triton
2. https://fragdenstaat.de/en/blog/2019/11/27/frontex-judgement-luxemburg-transparency/
   https://euobserver.com/migration/145186
3. A copy of the invoice can be found here: https://fragdenstaat.de/dokumente/3834-frontex-rechnung/