EU Borders Agency, the Frontex, is proud about the EU Turkey deal. It realized that the number of arriving refugees and migrants in the whole month of March sharply fell down to 26,460, less than half the figure recorded in February.
Praising the EU Turkey deal, the Frontex notes in a statement:
“In line with the EU/Turkey agreement decided by the European Council on 17/18 March, Greece said it would return to Turkey most of the migrants arriving on its islands after March 20. Some 3 500 migrants arrived in Greece in the last 11 days of March. This compares to 22 900 people who were detected illegally crossing the borders on the Greek islands and the rest of the Eastern Mediterranean route between March 1 and March 20.”
“Even though weather conditions continue to play a part in the number of arrivals on the islands in the Aegean, the recent downward trend has continued into April. There have been fewer than 100 arrivals per day on average in the first half of this month,” said Frontex Executive Director Fabrice Leggeri.
The Frontex ExecDirector stresses that “thanks to the array of recent initiatives taken by the Commission, Greece, Turkey and the EU agencies, we have been able to improve control over our external borders and are beginning to manage the migratory flows better, in a more rational and fair manner.”
However, he does not mention whether the Frontexhas assisted the Turkish or the Greek coast guard to send some refugee boats back to Turkey. Oh, this wasn’t part of the EU Turkey deal?
The Fronext statement confirms also that apart from the deportation of 325 “migrants” back to Turkey 4-8 April (3 transportation routes in total), deportations have been halted and the border agency does not give any information on whether the Frontex policemen are still on the Greek islands of the Eastern Aegean Sea wasting taxpayers’ money for sun, sea and an ouzo.
The closure of the West Balkan route and the EU Turkey Deal has forced smugglers and refuges & migrants to sail the alternative route to Italy, thus more than doubling of the number of migrants crossing the sea to Italy, when compared to February. The monthly total in March reached nearly 9 600, compared to 2 283 in the same month of 2015.
“Nearly all detections on this route were of migrants from sub-Saharan Africa, mainly nationals of Nigeria, Somalia and Gambia. There have been no signs of a significant shift of migrants from other routes, especially the Eastern Mediterranean, to the Central Mediterranean,” the statement notes.
Transparency, gentlemen! Transparency!
PS I assume the Frontext statement was written before Sunday news, that 4oo migrants were drowned as they were trying to reach Italy from Egypt.
This is all political propaganda: you cannot believe anything that these crooks in Frontex state.
As an example, here is Steve Peers revelation that Syrians are being denied asylum process and deported to Turkey as a “safe” country. No public statement, no political explanation — just underhand crookery.
https://t.co/pna4xG7VVK