Agencies of the European Union

Hundreds of people protested in north-east Greece on Jan. 24 against the security fence along the Turkish border, demanding the opening of safe routes for migrants, two days after 45 died making the risky Aegean Sea crossing.

Greece wants EU border agency Frontex to help send back to Turkey migrants deemed ineligible for asylum in Europe, Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias told reporters on Jan. 23.

The minister's comments came a day after he shared this proposal with his German counterpart Frank-Walter Steimeier in Berlin, Greek news agency ANA and a ministry source said.    

Greek police, the European Commission and Frontex held a meeting on Friday at the Citizen Protection Ministry in Athens and discussed the readmission and repatriation of undocumented migrants.

A new migrant tragedy took place east of the small Greek Aegean island of Farmakonisi at dawn on Friday. Seven migrants, including six small children, lost their lives in the tragedy.

Greek Coast Guards confirmed that a wooden dinghy carrying migrants crashed into rocks resulting in one woman and six children meeting a tragic death.

Greek authorities have denied any involvement in the Jan. 5 migrant tragedy in the Aegean Sea, citing reports in several Turkish media outlets to that end. 

Romanian authorities have cracked down on a criminal group responsible for attacks on ATMs across Europe through the use of malicious software.

The operation, one of the first in Europe against this type of cybercrime, was conducted in Romania and Moldova by Romanian law enforcement authorities with assistance from Europol and Eurojust, Europol said in a press release on Thursday.

The EU agency for external borders, Frontex, heightened its presence in Greece in order to support the country in dealing with the unprecedented number of migrants arriving on its islands.

This was done by launching the Poseidon Rapid Intervention on Monday, which replaces the Joint Operation Poseidon Sea with a larger number of officers and technical equipment.

“The most important element of the new European Border and Coast Guard Agency is that it goes beyond what Frontex was able to do, but that we do not replace member states’ responsibilities and definitely not their sovereignty,” European Commissioner for Migration and Internal Affairs Dimitris Avramopoulos said in the European Parliament Plenary session on the European Border and Coast Guard.

The European Commission adopted on Tuesday new measures for managing the European Union's external borders more efficiently and preserving the security of the bloc's Schengen area of passport-free travel.

The European Commission is today adopting an important set of measures to manage the EU’s external borders and protect our Schengen area without internal borders. Today’s proposals will help to manage migration more effectively, improve the internal security of the European Union, and safeguard the principle of free movement of persons.