UPDATE ON HERMES AFTER THE EXTRAORDINARY EUROPEAN COUNCIL
Warsaw, March 11—In its Declaration after the extraordinary session that took place today in Brussels the European Council announced: “The Member States most directly concerned by migratory movements require our concrete solidarity. The EU and the Member States stand ready to provide the necessary support as the situation evolves. The EU, in particular through the Frontex Hermes 2011 operation, will continue to closely monitor the impact of events on migratory movements both within and from the region. In particular, Member States are urged to provide further human and technical resources to Frontex, as required. The Commission is invited to make additional resources available. The European Council calls for rapid agreement to be reached on the regulation enhancing the agency's capabilities.”
FRONTEX GUEST OFFICERS SENT TO WORK IN ITALY
Specialist screening and debriefing experts from six Member States/Schengen-Associated Countries (SACs) have been sent to assist the Italian authorities with the processing of irregular migrants in Italy. Under the provisions of Joint Operation (JO) Hermes Extension 2011, Frontex has deployed 20 expert personnel to immigrant detention centres in Crotone in Calabria, Caltanissetta and Catania in Sicily, and Bari in Puglia.
HERMES 2011 RUNNING
Following a formal request for help from the Italian Ministry of Interior, received on February 15, Frontex and Italy have started a Joint Operation in the central Mediterranean area on Sunday 20 February. Joint Operation Hermes 2011, originally planned to commence in June, was brought forward and started on February 20 with a provisional end-date of March 31 as an initial phase with a possible extension if needed.
HERMES 2011 STARTS TOMORROW IN LAMPEDUSA
Joint Operation (JO) Hermes 2011 is due to start tomorrow with the deployment of additional aerial and maritime assets from Italy and Malta. In the following days the second line activities will be activated with the deployment of debriefing/screening experts. Their task will be to gather information necessary needed for analysis, to make assumptions concerning migrants’ nationalities, and to enable early detection and prevention of possible criminal activities at the EU external borders.
REQUEST FOR HELP OVER MIGRATORY PRESSURE IN LAMPEDUSA
Frontex received a formal request for assistance on February 15 from the Italian Ministry of Interior regarding the extraordinary migratory situation in the Pelagic Islands. The Italian Government requested assistance in strengthening the surveillance of the EU’s external borders in the form of a Joint Operation.
SITUATIONAL UPDATE: MIGRATORY INFLUX TO SOUTHERN ITALY
According to official data provided by Italian authorities, between January 1 and February 13, 2011, a total of 5526 migrants were recorded landing in the Pelagic Island, in a total of 116 incidents. This compares to 7,200 for the whole of 2008, the peak year for arrivals of irregular migrants in these islands to date, when Tunisians were the most commonly represented nationality, accounting for 23% of arrivals.
