Staff harassment, a "culture of irresponsibility" and the use of "psychological violence" as a management tool are all prevalent at the EU's lead agency for managing migration, according to allegations in internal documents seen by POLITICO.

The letters and emails paint a picture of an institution in deep crisis with experienced staff leaving because of alleged coercion and an absence of "rule of law" at the Malta-based European Asylum Support Office.

POLITICO reported in January that the agency's Portuguese executive director, José Carreira, is already under investigation by the bloc’s anti-fraud office, OLAF, for alleged misconduct in procurement and human resources and possible breaches of data protection rules. He contests those charges and the allegations made in the new documents.

"I deny all of the allegations made in the emails and emphasize that OLAF’s investigation is ongoing for over eight months, no accusations against any particular staff have been made or preliminary measures been requested or actioned to date," said Carreira.

The agency is crucial to the EU's migration response, providing operational and technical assistance to member countries managing the arrival and processing of migrants — particularly those such as Italy and Greece that have experienced the highest numbers. As migration has moved up the political agenda, the agency's budget has increased from €15.5 million in 2015 to a provisional figure of €69 million in 2017.

"The presumption of innocence of any staff member until proven otherwise is a fundamental tenet of the EU and is fully applied at EASO” — José Carreira

But despite the OLAF investigation — which is expected to run until July — the documents suggest that severe problems continue at the agency. In an email to staff dated April 29, Emmanuel Maurage, the agency's head of human resources unit, department of administration, explained his "matured and conscious decision" to resign from his position.

"The rule of law is absent in this agency to an extent that nothing that could have happened in an EU institution compares what is taking place here," he alleged, adding, "The state of delusion of the persons who are responsible for this situation is unprecedented as much as the culture of irresponsibility in this agency is pervasive."

Maurage, an alumnus from the French Ecole Nationale d'Administration, the elite college that French President Emmanuel Macron also attended, implored his colleagues not to "implement illegal orders even if the pressure on you is high." He also urged them to resist "psychological violence that is pervasive in this institution and which is considered by some to be a 'normal' way of managing staff."

The former HR head alleged that people who spoke up about problems at the agency had been subjected to a range of intimidatory tactics, including "spying on them, spreading false rumors, fabricating files, extorting false testimonies [and] paying lawyers to sue staff members."

"Problems at the agency can pose several risks, in terms of reputation and efficiency but also in financial terms” — EU official

Crucially, Maurage's allegations post-date measures taken by EASO's management board to restrict Carreira's duties. On March 5, the chairman and deputy chairman of EASO's management board, Wolfgang Taucher and David Costello, wrote to staff to say that the executive director could not take decisions on a range of human resources and procurement issues without Taucher's endorsement in writing. The letter said the measures were aimed at "protecting your interest as members of the staff and ensures that the Agency will continue to function as smoothly as possible."

In response to questions from POLITICO, a spokesperson for EASO confirmed that at a management board meeting on February 27-28, "a decision on interim measures was taken in order to further strengthening [sic] the good governance of the agency in specific areas, most notably recruitment and procurement."

"EASO emphasizes that these temporary interim measures are precautionary and do not imply any malpractice known to the agency, to its executive director or to its management board, but rather are a safeguard which has been put in place until the outcome of the OLAF investigation," the spokesperson added.

The measures appear not to have yet had the desired effect, with other senior staff voicing concerns after they were put in place. One senior employee, whom POLITICO has agreed not to name, wrote in an email to staff dated April 27 that “I have already communicated to my Executive Director [Carreira] I will only come back to EASO if he's dismissed.”

In the email, he accused Carreira of lying to managers: “We are confronted to [sic] a situation where our Executive Director does not always tell the truth to his managers” and stressed that “inefficiencies I have found show the lack of effective and efficient internal controls in EASO.”

And in another email to staff dated March 7, the agency's head of procurement, Bjarni Nash, alleged that his “professional isolation" is evidence of "harassment” as a result of calls he had made for rules to be respected. He said that he has "vociferously and repetitively" raised procurement issues with Carreira that he warned could potentially expose EASO to "millions in damages" if they are brought before the courts.

Another senior staffer, the agency's former Head of Operations Department Joanna Darmanin — a Maltese official who has worked in the European Commission since 2004 — was dismissed by Carreira last year. She was the second highest ranking staff member after Carreira, who is grade AD 14 (equating to basic salary of around €14,000 a month). She told POLITICO she has since launched a case against the agency for unfair dismissal at the European Court of Justice.

"The agency reiterates that OLAF visits and investigations are a normal practice of good governance aimed at safeguarding the public interest and public funds" — EASO spokesperson

In response to the allegations, Carreira said: "These emails came from three specific employees and do not in any way constitute an objective or authoritative analysis of the state of affairs at the agency."

"I have made every effort to work constructively with all my staff since taking up my post, in the best interest of EASO, and while I respect the divergent opinions of all my staff members, I am confident that the reflections contained therein do not reflect the sentiments of the large majority of EASO staff. I do however condemn the way these staff members have made their allegations and am taking the necessary steps to clarify them, as I did in other similar circumstances in the past," he said. "The presumption of innocence of any staff member until proven otherwise is a fundamental tenet of the EU and is fully applied at EASO.”

A spokesperson for EASO said: "[We] cannot comment on any of the allegations you mention as this could potentially prejudice OLAF’s investigation."

"The agency reiterates that OLAF visits and investigations are a normal practice of good governance aimed at safeguarding the public interest and public funds. It should be emphasized that they do not necessarily imply any malpractice. Therefore, we would refrain from personalizing the current investigation," the spokesperson said.

A senior EU official who has been closely involved with the agency, but would only speak on condition of anonymity, acknowledged that the allegations are highly damaging. “Problems at the agency can pose several risks, in terms of reputation and efficiency but also in financial terms,” the official said.

An EU diplomat from Northern Europe with knowledge of the alleged problems at EASO said that the Commission is actively looking at how to resolve the crisis at the agency. “Things cannot continue this way,” the diplomat said, adding it is difficult to take definitive action with the OLAF probe still ongoing.

— This article was changed on 9 May 2018 to correct the figures for the EASO budget.