Migrant upsurge puts Frontex on standby
The influx of migrants into Greece, Spain and Italy has increased in recent weeks by between 30 and 70 percent, a representative of the European Union’s border monitoring agency Frontex has told journalists from Kathimerini and other newspapers at a briefing in Madrid.
According to Frontex spokeswoman Ewa Moncure, a total of 2,240 undocumented migrants arrived in Greece last month, a 31 percent increase from April that is being attributed to the improved weather conditions.
The pressure has also grown on Spain and Italy. In May, a total of 22,900 undocumented migrants were intercepted in the central Mediterranean, a 77 percent increase compared to the previous month.
In the first five months of this year, some 6,000 migrants tried to enter Spain over the border with Morocco.
According to Moncure, Frontex staff are examining various scenarios to ensure that they have adequate staff and technical know-how to tackle a new migration crisis akin to that which swept the continent in late 2015 and early 2016.
Frontex has also assumed a more active role in collecting information about possible terrorist suspects, Moncure told journalists. “We train our staff and we supply the information to national authorities,” she said.
