“We keep berating Frontex, especially in the European Parliament, but it simply can’t save us with its few hundred employees,” said Czech MEP Tomáš Zdechovský
“The Western Balkan route continues to be the most active migratory route into the EU with 19,160 detections in September, twice as many as a year ago,” Frontex said
Almost 200,000 irregular migrants breached Europe’s external border last year, according to the bloc’s border agency
The route from North Africa to Italy and Malta remains the most frequented
Frontex praises Poland and the Baltic states for implementing tough measures to combat illegal immigration
The statistical report does not yet factor in the projected mass wave of Afghan migrants to come
The head of Frontex thanked Polish authorities for their cooperation in protecting the EU’s external borders and said he was impressed by the measures used to protect Polish territory
Poland must convince EU institutions to support it in the border conflict with Belarus, writes political scientist and Warsaw Collegium Civitas professor Marek Cichocki
The video shows migrants accompanied by a military vehicle
In June, Frontex recorded an increase of 69 percent in the number of incoming migrants
Economic migration on the rise
Influx of illegal migrants from Belarus is alarming
More than 47,100 migrants tried to get to Europe this year
Frontex border agency also failed to provide impact analysis of its actions
Italy reportedly drove some 15,500 people back to Libya
Frontex claims it is legal to push migrants back to a safe country like Turkey, but the agency claims it left Hungary because the government was pushing migrants back into Serbia, writes Daniel Deme
Hungary has a right to defend its territory just like any other EU member state
The Frontex spokesman confirmed the withdrawal
Greece will purchase vehicles, ships and thermal cameras with the aid
Illegal crossings have dropped by a fifth in a year
The German Ministry of the Interior says a patrol of German and Greek Frontex officers were fired on and then given the middle finger by a Turkish soldier
The EU has quietly dropped at least two of its plans on how to tackle migration. Some major measures against migration that were adopted under pressure, like refugee centers in the EU and North Africa, and more manpower for the Frontex agency, have been shelved or postponed. It turned out that the EU won’t be able to realize them, and it is not so pressing seeing as the flow of migrants is now lower.
Prime Minister Andrej Babiš summarized the past week on his Facebook page, not forgetting to mention his visit to the Frontex agency headquarters.
Frontex doesn’t need additional resources, its capacities are sufficient, repeated Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš to the media during the EU summit in Brussels.
Czech PM Andrej Babiš and his Polish counterpart Mateusz Morawiecki share skepticism over an enlargement of Frontex and its budget increase. During Babiš’s visit to Warsaw, they agreed on issues relating to migration as well as other topics expected at the upcoming summit.
Speaking at the Committee on European Affairs meeting, the Czech PM said there is no reason to increase Frontex´s staff from 1,500 to 10,000 as planned. Member States should ensure the protection of the external borders themselves.
Peter Pellegrini believes that while the time is short, there is no compromise on the issue of Brexit. Immigration and quotas were also discussed in Salzburg.
The EU has to clearly identify what the extra manpower of the Frontex agency will be for, said Andrej Babiš prior to an informal EU summit in Salzburg.
According to Slovak Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini the Visegrad Group is not refusing the help of Frontex to strengthen its borders, however this should be a supplemental measure.
Visegrad cooperation is flawless, we are acting as a block that represents 65 million people, said PM Babiš during a meeting between the Czech and Slovak governments.
According to FRONTEX chief Fabrice Leggeri, the EU cannot get rid of illegal immigrants. He says more intensive expulsion is a necessity, otherwise the problem with migration cannot be solved.
