European Border and Coast Guard Agency

The European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex) announced today a 42% decrease in illegal border crossings into the European Union since January, compared to the same timeframe last year, as reported by BTA.

The European Border and Coast Guard Agency, Frontex, reports an increase in illegal migration flows from Turkey to the Greek islands during the first eight months of 2024, with 37,163 people crossing the borders illegally.

BELGRADE - Under a new agreement to be signed between the EU and Serbia, Frontex, the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, will also be deployed on Serbia's borders with neighbouring Balkan states that are not the EU's outer borders, Asylum Protection Center Director Rados Djurovic said on Friday.

Frontex, the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, is set to bolster border security in Bulgaria by dispatching between 500 and 600 of its personnel to the country, announced the agency's director during a visit to Bulgaria. The move aims to address migrant pressure and enhance border protection along the Bulgarian-Turkish and Bulgarian-Serbian borders.

There is a significant increase in the number of illegal border crossings in the EU for 2023, totaling around 380,000, with a rise in arrivals from the Mediterranean Sea. This was announced by the European Border and Coast Guard Agency ("Frontex").

Bulgaria's journey toward integration into the Schengen Area marked a notable development as Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mariya Gabriel disclosed plans to negotiate the country's accession to Schengen for land borders in 2024. This revelation emerged during the parliamentary Question Time on Friday.

The European Union will send officers from its Frontex border agency to help Macedonian border guards fight illegal migrants after signing an agreement on October 20 to do so.

So far, it has been blocked by Bulgaria's veto on North Macedonia's EU integration, as Sofia did not allow the agreement to be signed in the Macedonian language.

Ljubljana – Interior Minister Aleš Hojs and his Cypriot counterpart Nicos Nouris discussed in Ljubljana on Friday the war in Ukraine and its consequences. They stressed the importance of managing migration at the EU level. They also spoke of the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum, where Slovenia advocates flexible solidarity.

Turkey's Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu has slammed Greek authorities, claiming that the Greek has thrown three migrants into the Aegean Sea, which resulted in one of the victims' death.

Soylu said on Twitter that two of the migrants were rescued while the other one had died following an incident off the coast of the Çeşme district in Turkey's İzmir province.

Pushbacks in the Aegean Sea have diverted vessels carrying irregular migrants to Italy, Turkey's interior minister said on Nov. 19.

Noting recent reports of an increase in irregular migrant arrivals in Italy from Turkey, Süleyman Soylu told Anadolu Agency that the ships carrying these migrants were not coming from Turkey.