Ombudsman says papers show EU agency made four offers to help Greece with surveillance of boat that sank, but got no response
The EU’s administrative watchdog has called for a change to Europe’s search and rescue rules after an inquiry into last year’s sinking of a rusty fishing boat in which hundreds of people are thought to have died.
The European ombudsman, Emily O’Reilly, said current rules prevented the EU’s border and coastguard agency Frontex from fulfilling its obligations to protect the rights of people in distress at sea or act independently of national authorities.
