Fabrice Leggeri

The head of EU border agency Frontex on Feb. 27 criticized charities that rescue migrants off Libya, arguing that they encourage the traffickers who profit from the dangerous Mediterranean crossings.

Western security officials are warning the Isis terror group may be trying to manipulate refugees into carrying out terrorist attacks.

There are also fears Isis will sneak in trained fighters among the mass movements of people fleeing war, hunger and extreme poverty.

Less than a year since it was proposed, the new border agency of the EU was declared operational by the EU Commissioner for Migration, Home Affairs and Citizenship Dimitris Avramopoulos, at a ceremony on Thursday that brought together EU and national leaders at the Kapitan Andreevo Border Checkpoint on Bulgaria's border with Turkey.

A boat carrying migrants capsized on Sept. 21 off the coast of Egypt, killing at least 29 people and sparking an operation in which another 150 were rescued, officials said.
 
Search and rescue teams were looking for more survivors following the tragedy which took place off the Mediterranean port city of Rosetta, two police officials said.
 

At least 10 people drowned when a boat carrying migrants capsized off the Egyptian coast on Sept. 21, with rescue teams saving at least 150 passengers, officials said.
 
Search teams were looking for more survivors from the incident which took place off the Mediterranean port city of Rosetta, two police officials said.
 

The number of detections of illegal crossings in March at EU's external borders in the Western Balkans have decreased by about 90% compared to February, the EU's border management agency, Frontex, said on Monday.

Frontex attributed the drop to Macedonia's decision to significantly reduce the number of migrants it allowed to enter from Greece.

EU border management agency Frontex has urged member states to pledge more police officers to support Greece in returning migrants to Turkey.

Bulgaria might be affected to a bigger extent by the migrant crisis after the Western Balkans route is closed, EU border agency Frontex's Executive Director Fabrice Leggeri has said.

Turkish authorities prevented more than 500 refugee a day from traveling to Europe in the first two months of 2016, officials have said ahead of a summit between Turkey and the European Union during which the flow of refugees to the continent will be discussed.

Figures shared by Europe's border control agency have painted a gloomy picture regarding ongoing efforts to stanch the influx of migrants and refugees from Turkey to the European Union, with the head of the agency confirming that the trend is not showing any signs of slowing down.