On 8 July 2015, Frontex Executive Director Fabrice Leggeri welcomed the Netherlands Minister of Foreign Affairs Bert Koenders in the headquarters of the Agency in Warsaw.
During the meeting, the two discussed the current migratory pressure at the external borders of the European Union.
“The situation in Central Mediterranean, in Greece and in Hungary is particularly concerning,” said Fabrice Leggeri.
“In line with the ‘hot spot’ approach - part of the Agenda for Migration which was recently tabled by the European Commission, Frontex has recently opened the European Regional Task Force in Italy where, together with other EU agencies, we are assisting the Italian authorities in managing the migratory flows,” he added.
Since the beginning of the year, over 67 000 migrants have arrived in the area covered by Operation Triton, most of them originating from Eritrea, Nigeria, Somalia and a variety of Sub-Saharan and West African countries.
This year, Greece has registered a significant increase in the number of irregular migrants when compared to the same period in 2014. More than 79 000 migrants arrived mainly on the Greek islands since the beginning of the year until June 2015. The majority of them are Syrian refugees followed by Afghan and Pakistani nationals.
“We have significantly strengthened Operation Triton in Italy and we are now looking into reinforcing our operational presence in Greece, where the situation remains difficult,” added Leggeri.
Hungary is also experiencing an unprecedented increase of migratory flows at its border with Serbia with a total of 67 000 migrants intercepted – most of them initially entered the EU in Greece or Bulgaria.
The Netherlands Minister of Foreign Affairs Bert Koenders added that the Netherlands will remain a committed contributor to its important work for Europe.