Europol is to send 200 officers to Greece next month in order to identify possible terrorists among migrants and refugees.
The European Union’s law enforcement agents will be deployed in refugee registration centers and camps across the country in order to help Greek authorities identify potential Islamic State terrorists.
The Europol officers are specially trained in immigration and terrorism issues. They will not be involved in border protection operations, but in dealing with suspicious individuals.
Europe is worried that the European Union-Turkey agreement for stemming migrant flows from the Turkish shores to the nearby Greek islands might be over soon due to Ankara’s excessive demands. On Thursday alone, 130 migrants arrived on Greek shores, after weeks of substantially reduced inflow.
According to Frontex figures, migrant inflows were reduced by 90 percent in one month after the agreement went in effect in late March. In April, 2,700 migrants landed on Greek islands, 90 percent less compared to March figures.
On Thursday, the total number of registered migrants was 54,542. About 10,000 of them are camping at Idomeni on the Greece-Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia border in the hope that the border will open again. Greek authorities are making efforts to convince them to leave the area and move to proper hospitality structures, but the efforts have proved fruitless so far.
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