EU: Europol launches European Migrant Smuggling Centre
22 February 2016
"Dimitris Avramopoulos, Commissioner for Migration, Home Affairs and Citizenship, will launch today Europol's new European Migrant Smuggling Centre (EMSC) in The Hague. The EMSC, as envisioned in the European Agenda on Migration in May 2015 and called for by the Council of Justice and Home Affairs Ministers in November 2015, will proactively support EU Member States in dismantling criminal networks involved in organised migrant smuggling. The Centre will focus on areas with high levels of criminal activity, and will build a better capability across the European Union to fight people smuggling networks. Ahead of the launch, Commissioner Avramopoulos said: "The fight against migrant smuggling is a key priority for the European Union in addressing the refugee crisis. In order to step up and coordinate efforts across Member States, the European Commission announced the creation of a European Migrant Smuggling Centre within Europol in its European Agenda on Migration. The launch of this Centre will reinforce cooperation with Member States, international organisations, national stakeholders and European agencies, with a responsibility to fight migrant smuggling." The EMSC will help implement the EU's Action Plan against migrant smuggling presented in May 2015. By the end of 2016, the Commission will present proposals to improve the existing EU legal framework to tackle migrant smuggling." Source:
European Commission - Daily News 22/02/2016 (link)
And see:
Europol launches the European Migrant Smuggling Centre (press release, pdf): "In March 2015 Europol launched the Joint Operational Team Mare (JOT MARE). JOT MARE, hosted at Europol’s headquarters, is a specialised team of experts whose aim is to combat people smuggling via the Mediterranean and their subsequent secondary movements to destination countries. The strengthening of JOT Mare, making it an essential part of the new EMSC, and the upgrading of all of Europol activities in this field, underpin the creation of the new European Migrant Smuggling Centre. It also builds on Europol’s work over the last ten years or more in combating organised migrant smuggling in Europe, during which almost 40,000 suspected smugglers have been identified and 1,551 cross-border investigations have been supported in 2015 alone."
And see:
Refugee crisis: latest news from across Europe (22.2.16)