Frontex Pays 110 Euros per Person for Accommodation in a Slavonian Hotel
Mašenjka Bačić, Ana Čelar (Oštro), Hans-Martin Tillack (Welt)
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An investigation by Welt and Oštro unveils how the European agency Frontex pays 110 euros for accommodating its trainees in the former Spačva Hotel, situated on the border between Croatia and Serbia
Hotel Spačva, which is rented by the Croatian Ministry of the Interior (Foto: Ivica Galović/Pixsell).
The European Border and Coast Guard Agency, Frontex, has been conducting trainings for its staff and members of MUP at the Croatian Spačva Hotel near the Serbian border since 2022. Trainees are also staying at the hotel – with Frontex paying a hefty 110 euros per day for each room.
Based in Poland, Frontex is, by its own admission, the fastest-growing European agency with over 2,000 employees. Its role includes border management, migration control, and participation in cross-border crime prevention, among other responsibilities. On its official website, it declares itself as »one of the most crucial bodies of the European Union in the realm of freedom, security, and justice«.
Nevertheless, this agency has previously been linked to fraudulent activities. OLAF (The European Anti-Fraud Office) has confirmed to Welt that they are investigating Frontex, and the European Public Prosecutor's Office has verified that the allegations are related to an Estonian company hired to provide accommodation services.
The new investigation by the German Welt and Oštro raises new concerns about travel arrangements within the agency, specifically concerning the organization of accommodation for hundreds of police officers sent to Croatia for training since 2022.
From a Modest Hotel to a Police Accommodation Center
On May 8, 2023, the seventh session of training for the Frontex Rapid Reaction Force commenced (Foto: PU vukovarsko-srijemska).
Frontex had confirmed to Welt journalists in August that in 2022 and 2023 they held 15 of those training sessions at the Spačva Hotel, located on the Zagreb–Belgrade highway, near the border with Serbia and that 3 more are planned by the end of September. According to information from the Police Academy's website, these training sessions last up to five days, and by July of this year, 457 trainees had completed them. Three more sessions in November and December are planned by the end of the year, according to the Police Academy website.
However, since 2018, the hotel has been used as an Accommodation and Training Center for the Border Police by the Croatian Ministry of the Interior, which pays a monthly fee of 18,000 euros plus VAT. The current contract is signed until the end of 2025, and until 2021, the rent was funded by EU funds.
Before the agreement with the ministry, Spačva was a three-star hotel with 60 rooms, including 47 double rooms and seven suites. Nikola Dekanović explained to Welt journalists that the hotel was built in 2004 and covers an area of 3,500 m² with surrounding land totaling around 33,000 m².
Frontex confirmed to Welt that they pay 110 euros per person for this accommodation, which represents the maximum allowable expenditure according to the European Commission's regulations for the agency's accommodation expenses in Croatia.
Frontex pays for the accommodation service through the Italian agency Adria Congrex, which signed a 14-million-euro contract with the agency in November 2022 for the »organization of events outside of Poland.« This company did not respond to Welt's inquiries, citing contractual obligations to Frontex.
According to the contract from the late 2022, their job is market research, which includes searching for »suitable high-quality hotels.« However, in the case of Croatia, it was certain that the accommodation would be organized in Spačva.
Frontex explained to journalists that every year, EU member states are invited to offer their accommodation facilities for the training of their officials. In 2023, another country that met the requirements applied, and their offer was also accepted.
In 2021, the training sessions were held in three EU countries, and last year they were held in six countries at seven locations.
Annual Hotel Rental Costs Exceeding 200,000 Euros
When the Spačva Hotel was open to guests, according to data from its archived website in 2017, it offered 120 beds. Although it now operates as the Accommodation and Training Center for the Border Police, it is still owned by the company Sonik d.d., which, among other things, is involved in gambling activities. Two decades ago, during 2004 and 2005, its general director was the current Minister of Defense, Mario Banožić, as stated in his resume.
Nikola Dekanović, the owner of Sonik, explained to Welt that Banožić briefly worked at Sonik 17 years ago and that he had seen him perhaps three times since. He stated that if he were to receive a parking ticket, he wouldn't approach Banožić to have it revoked.
»The fact that he worked for our company is more of a burden than an advantage«, said Dekanović adding that he’s not a member of any political party.
According to data from the State Treasury, the Ministry of the Interior has been paying Sonik slightly over 243,000 euros annually for hotel rental since 2018. The Ministry of the Interior did not provide a response to Oštro regarding the whereabouts and the number of Croatian police officers staying there during the training.
Journalist Lennart Pfahler (Welt) also contributed to the story.