European migrant crisis

By European Migration, Home Affairs and Citizenship Commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos

Honorable Members of the European Parliament;

After years in which we have seen migrants dying at our doorstep; in which we have seen the trust of our citizens in the European Institutions diminish, it was time to be visionary and bold.

The Greek coast guard rescued 38 migrants Tuesday found on a small boat off the country's western coast in the Ionian Sea, following a search and rescue operation launched after one of the passengers called authorities for help.

European Union foreign and defence ministers on Monday approved plans for a naval operation targeting people smugglers in the Mediterranean operating mainly from Libya.

AP quoted two diplomats as saying the EU ministers approved the plans at their meeting in Brussels. The sources spoke on condition of anonymity because the decision had yet to be officially announced.

European Union nations approved plans Monday for a naval operation to go after the human trafficking networks that are sending thousands of migrants weekly across the Mediterranean toward Europe or to their deaths. NATO said it stood ready to help out if needed.

Bulgaria authorities consider a flow of asylum seekers from neighboring Macedonia unlikely, State Refugee Agency (DAB) head Nikola Kazakov has said.

A total of 190 migrants have been captured in multiple locations in northwestern Turkey.

Some 113 migrants consisting of Afghans and Syrians were captured in an operation by the Turkish Coast Guard May 14 off the coast of the Ayvac?k district in the northwestern Çanakkale province. The migrants were trying to reach the Greek island of Lesbos on a boat. 

Police in northern Greece say 93 Syrian migrants were released from locked cargo train carriage, after being tricked by smugglers into traveling in the wrong direction.

In a move designed to ease pressure on Greece and other Mediterranean countries, the European Union on Wednesday presented a plan aimed at a more fair distribution of immigrants among its member states.

The European Union forged ahead Wednesday with a plan to ease pressure on nations dealing with an influx of Mediterranean migrants by requiring other countries to share the burden, despite some strong opposition.

The EU presented on Wednesday its European Agenda on Migration, which contains the concrete and immediate actions the Commission will take in order to deal with the influx of refugees.

The agenda is also aimed at preventing repetition of the recent incidents in the Mediterranean Sea, where thousands of people drowned after attempting dangerous sea crossings.