EU interior ministers agree to cope with mounting pressure to control migration

The European Union (EU) interior ministers have agreed to strengthen surveillance at external borders facing increasing pressure to control migration, according to the Council of the EU on Thursday.

They also agreed to reinforce the resources and the operational capacities of the EU border control agency Frontex.

The fight against the criminal networks of smugglers and traffickers should remain a priority in order to protect migrants and save their lives, stressed the ministers.

They also attached great importance to the reinforcement of cooperation with third countries for the efficient management of migrants flows.

"Considering the latest developments concerning migratory pressure towards the EU, we need to do more not only in the Central and Eastern Mediterranean region, but also on the land borders in the Western Balkans to address major migratory challenges," said Rihards Kozlovskis, Latvian Minister for the Interior and President of the Home Affairs Council.

"I wish to encourage all member states to further reform their asylum procedures for applicants from the Western Balkans, including by considering where appropriate the safe country of origin concept and allocating extra staff," said Dimitris Avramopoulos, EU Commissioner for migration, home affairs and citizenship.

According to the EU, about 20.4 million third-country nationals are living in the bloc in 2013, amounting to 4 percent of the total EU population.

Since the early 2000s, the European Commission has been developing and expanding a European legal migration policy that set out the conditions of entry and residence and also minimum of rights that migrants should enjoy to integrate into the society. Endit