Fabrice Leggeri was able to stay in his post as head of the border protection agency Frontex for an amazingly long time – even by EU standards.
Since 2015, the Frenchman has headed the agency that is supposed to drastically curb the flow of refugees from Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan and African countries in the Mediterranean, the Balkans and most recently on the Polish-Belarusian border.
For human rights organizations, which sharply condemned Frontex's handling of migrants, for example on the high seas, his departure was long overdue.
But even the video-supported allegations that his people supported the illegal "pushback" of refugees by Greek border officials did not endanger Leggeri.
After the first large wave of refugees, his tough course on migrants was politically desired by the EU member states.
The fatality of the Frontex boss, who appeared self-important and authoritarian towards employees, was his inability to efficiently manage the agency, which had grown into the largest EU authority during his tenure.
"Organizational failure" was the devastating verdict within the EU.
A correction of the EU migration policy, which continues to rely on deterrence, is not associated with his resignation.