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Dimitris Avramopoulos has been praised by European Union insiders who believe his methodical and intelligent approach could stop thousands of people risking their lives crossing into Europe from North Africa every week.

Unlike some of the EUs flashier commissioners, Mr Avramopoulos has gained supporters by quietly but assertively getting on with his work.

This week he was praised as being radical by a Brussels insider, who added: His proposals are much more further-reaching than his predecessors.

The Migration Commissioner, who was once the Mayor of Athens, has previously expressed his concern at the way the EU was attempting to seal itself off from the rest of the world.

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Refugees and migrants wait in a small rubber boat to be rescued off Lampedusa, Italy

History shows that fortresses that protect themselves from external threats enslave those they were meant to protect

Dimitris Avramopoulos

He was quoted several years ago as saying: History shows that fortresses that protect themselves from external threats enslave those they were meant to protect.

And his career in Greek politics has given him a perspective from the front line of the migrant crisis when Greece was the target destination for those aiming to make it into Europe.

His team have already helped to oversee the extension of the Frontex border agency, the use of armed officers against people smugglers and the manner in which refugees are distributed to member states.

But while he is thought to be the brains behind the idea, he often allows Mr Juncker or other commissioners to take the credit, preferring to avoid the spotlight himself.

This thoughtful approach has won him support in Brussels - although some are concerned the commissioner is not tough enough to assert himself among European or North African officials.

One official said he is perhaps too nice for the role and he should be more present rather than shying away.

Another seemed reluctant to give Mr Avramopoulos the credit for his decisions, saying: Either he is good, or his people are - at least something comes out of it.

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They added he is not a great visionary but conceded he was a solid worker.

Before being appointed as Migration Commissioner in 2014 Mr Avramopouloss previous record is certainly chequered.

He was Greeces Foreign Minister under Prime Minister Adonis Samaras but resigned his role during the financial crisis.

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But he has gained respect as a mediator in Greece between the bitter fronts of Hellenic politics.

Whether this will be enough to help the bloc finally make some headway in the EU's fight to solve the migrant crisis remains to be seen.

Read the rest here:
'He's radical!' Could Juncker's right-hand man solve the EU's migrant crisis? - Express.co.uk

In this Tuesday, June 6, 2017 file photo, South Sudanese refugees queue to receive a lunch of maize mash and beans, at the Imvepi reception centre, where newly arrived refugees are processed before being allocated plots of land in nearby Bidi Bidi refugee settlement, in northern Uganda. The number of South Sudanese refugees sheltering in Uganda has reached 1 million, the United Nations said Thursday, Aug. 17, 2017, a grim milestone in what has become the worlds fastest-growing refugee crisis. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis, File)

The number of the South Sudanese refugees in Uganda reaches one million in whats become one of the worlds largest humanitarian issues.

Over the past year, about 1800 South Sudanese citizens arrived in Uganda every day.

They are fleeing the civil war and violence ravaging their home country.

The U.N. said the number of the South Sudanese refugees has grown exponentially since fighting erupted, and Ugandan authorities are struggling to support the growing amounts of refugees.

The World Food Program recently had to cut food rations amid funding shortages.

The government says it needs at least $2 billion to deal with the influx of refugees, but has only been able to raise a fraction of the money.

Link:
Migrant Crisis South Sudan Refugees Exceed 1M in Uganda - One America News Network (press release)

Controversial author Douglas Murrayhas blasted "hypocrites" such as Lily Allen and Nicola Sturgeon in an extraordinary interview with Julia Hartley-Brewer.

With new figures from the United Nations suggesting the migrant crisis has reached a new pitch, Murray, author of The Strange Death of Europe,also says we need to get a grip on the situation and stop letting migrants into our continent until we know who they are.

The latest figures suggest the number of people entering Europe is continuing to rise, with more than9,000 people having arrived in Spain from north Africa this year.

Murray said that, while most ordinary people in Britain and elsewhere in Europe are sick of the situation, high-profile people in politics and the media are exploiting the situation for their own personal profile.

"This has provided a magnificent opportunity forpseuds and hypocrites and grandstanders to have their moment," he told Julia.

"The SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon said she would even take in some migrants. That was two years ago and she doesn't seem to have her family of migrants.

"Labour MPs - Yvette Cooper said she'd take in a family of migrants. Endless people... none of them have got them. Lily Allen has still not got her group of young men from sub-Saharan Africa living in their spare room.

"These people are grandstanding on a massive scale about a continent-wade catastrophe and they should feel enormous shame if they could.

"We have to look at the wholeproblem in its totality. The point is 'can we take in all of the world who wants to come to our continent. If you ask a grandstander like Lily Allen or Nicola Sturgeon or Yvette Cooper, they will not, when put on the spot, say 'keep anyone out.' They can't.

"In reality, if we followed the advice of these people, we'd destroy our entire society. [Unlike the majority of people]the people who have a voice in the media and our politicians who are insane."

Murray also said most of the current influx of migrants are actually sub-Sarahan African men, rather than refugees from war-torn areas like Syria, and "they haven't been rescued. they've been picked up by our own continent's vessels, by organised vessels paid for by taxpayers across our continent, and by NGO vessels.

"They are complicit with the traffickers, they are paying the traffickers, they are involved in an illegal business. they are paying to illegally enter our continent, to break outr own rules.

"We do actually have rules on how you claim asylum and it doesn't involve paying a criminal gang to enter Europe."

"we are lifting people from Africa and bringing them into Europe with no idea of who they are or whether they have any legitimate claim to be in Europe."

Murray also cited an extract fromhis book, documenting the policy of Australia to turn around migrant boats or turn them towards other countries, as an example to follow.

"We do not work out who is in our continent once they are in," he said. "We work out who people are, what their claims are, and keep them outside Europe in the process. Keep them in North Africa.

"This is a catastrophe down the road. If we dont maintain our laws, everyone will break them for us."

Listen above.

See more here:
Douglas Murray attacks 'hypocrites' Lily Allen and Nicola Sturgeon over migrant crisis - talkRADIO (press release)

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The nation is crumbling under the strain of the migrant crisis, and was having to handle it alone as EU member states were too busy bickering to come up with a burden sharing programme, proposed by the European Commission last year.

He told German newspaper Bild: Italy is contributing, but we cannot cope with this burden alone.

Asked if Italy had been abandoned by other European nations, Mr Alfano said: A very clear yes.

The European Commissions proposal would see member states contributing to a refugee resettlement plan and asylum fund.

But governments should be looking to Libya as the only solution to decrease the number of migrants reaching Italy, he said.

The Italian MP did not slam Angela Merkels open door refugee policy, even though it lead to a sharp increase in asylum seekers heading to Europe, saying she "was on the right side of the story in 2015".

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Italy is contributing, but we cannot cope with this burden alone

Angelino Alfano

He said the German Chancellor showed leadership, with strength and courage, and noted now most migrants are coming from African countries rather than the Middle East.

Alfano dismissed Austrias threats of sending troops to the border with Italy to stop migrants crossing the border.

He said: This is pure election campaigning, which we do not take seriously.

Our borders are clearly sealed. It is impossible for the migrants to travel to other countries.

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In recent days, Libya banned foreign ships from a stretch of water off its coast, prompting many NGOs to halt their search and rescue missions.

The move was welcomed by the Italian government.

Libya alleged some charities were facilitating illegal migration and working with traffickers to pick up migrants.

One charity, Sea Eye, branded the ban an explicit threat against the private NGOs and the ban would put many lives at risk.

Follow this link:
'We can't cope alone!' Italy says its been abandoned by Europe over migrant crisis - Express.co.uk

The warning comes after 69 Iraqi migrants in a yacht were detained on Sunday after being spotted by a coastguard patrol ship in Romanian territorial waters, about 10 nautical miles from the port of Mangalia.

Bulgarian news agency Novinite reports that the yacht was sailing under the Turkish flag piloted by Bulgarian and Cypriot traffickers.

Romanian authorities note that 2,500 people have been caught trying to cross the countrys borders illegally in the first six months of this year a five-fold increase on last year. Frontex figures show that only one person attempted to illegally enter the European Union via the Black Sea in the whole of 2016.

The growth of the route is a result of the restrictions on other routes in the Mediterranean.

The Eastern Mediterranean route (between Turkey and Greece across the Aegean Sea) was restricted last year following the EU-Turkey migrant deal. The Balkan route, which then took migrants out of EU nation Greece through Macedonia and Serbia (both non-EU countries) before re-entering the EUs free movement Schengen zone in Hungary, was closed after Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbn erected a border wall with Serbiaand increased other security measures.

The Central Mediterranean migrant route has also recently been restricted following moves by the Libyan navy to patrol its coast and the Italian governments implementation of a migrant rescue NGO code of conduct. The moves saw at least three NGOs pull search and rescue operations from the waters off the coast of North Africa over the weekend.

Captain Georgi Penev, chief of staff of the Bulgarian navy, told The Times: Migration [into Bulgaria] is mostly coming through the land border [from Turkey] at the moment.

But we could see an increase on the sea route because of the crackdown in the Aegean, Capt. Penev added.

In addition to sea and land incursions into Bulgaria and Romania, which both border the Black Sea, Spain, on the Eastern Mediterranean route from Morocco, is becoming the fastest growing route for illegal migration as migrants consider it safer than the central route from Libya.

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See more here:
Migrant Crisis: New Maritime Migrant Route Opens on Black Sea - Breitbart News