(C) Common Dreams
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New EU border chief vows to clean up Frontex agency as migrant numbers surge [1]
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Date: 2023-05-12 02:52:31+00:00
The Dutchman took office as agency figures show a more than 300 percent increase in migrant arrivals in the Central Mediterranean in the first three months of this year alone.
“I became a bit allergic [to] the word crisis,” he said, speaking at the agency’s office in Brussels. “I just see facts and figures. And those worry me — because what I see is a huge rise,” in people crossing the Mediterranean especially.
He noted that along other routes, such as the Western Balkans, migrant crossings have decreased. Yet on average across all tracks, the increase amounts to 26 percent.
More migrants are coming to the EU due to various reasons, he explained, including how human smugglers have improved their skills. Climate change — and conflict, as in Sudan — also act as “a trigger for migration.”
An internal Frontex document dated June 2022, seen by POLITICO, reflects one such intersection of factors. In it, private Syrian Cham Wings airline is accused of having had a role in smuggling migrants from Bangladesh to Libya via Damascus, which Cham Wings has denied.
Two diplomats, whom POLITICO spoke to on condition of anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the topic, believe Russia is behind this.
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[1] Url:
https://www.politico.eu/article/new-eu-border-chief-hans-leijtens-vow-clean-up-frontex-agency-migrant-number-surge/
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