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Joseph Walker-Cousins, former head of the British Embassy in Benghazi, accused the EU of doing too little, too late in regards to the migrant crisis.

Giving evidence at the House of Lords EU External Affairs Sub-Committee, the diplomat said the officials should have been patrolling Libyas land borders 1,400km to the south.

But instead, he claimed, they chose to deal with migrants only when they were a stones throw from Europe.

Ultimately, the breakdown of border control is down to the collapse of the functioning government in Libya, he remarked.

Now a senior fellow at the Institute for Statecraft think-tank, Mr Walker-Cousins was critical of the failure of Western governments, including Britain, for failing to offer "leadership" after prompting the collapse of the Gadaffi regime.

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According to the Mail, Mr Walker-Cousins said: Up to a million migrants, if not more, are in the pipeline. They will take a long time to work their way through that pipeline but it is well-established.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office said it was working to end the Libyan smugglers businesses, with 414 boats destroyed and 109 traffickers arrested.

Mr Walker-Cousins said he didnt want to completely blame the EU for the crisis, but maintained there was a lack of care.

He added: Then we can begin to restore border security along the land borders and achieve the desired results in terms of stemming the flow of migrants and prevent them putting themselves at the mercy of those gruesome, merciless traffickers.

I dont want to say there is a vacuum of ownership and leadership at the political level but that sort of engagement and that appetite to own what is going on in Libya does not seem to exist now in a way it did then.

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No one really wants to own it it is someone elses mess.

The diplomats remarks follow a fierce argument involving four EU leaders who claimed Brussels officials threatened to cut their aid funding if they refused to accept more asylum seekers.

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ONE MILLION more migrants to come to Europe as EU action 'too little too late' - Express.co.uk

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Minister Mller said he is deeply concerned over the rise in migrants crossing from North Africa to Europe so far this year. In the first three months of 2017, the number of migrants has doubled from this period in 2016. Mller warned: If we calculate this, 300,000 to 400,000 people could arrive in Italy this year, Die Welt reports.

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Last year a record 180,000 migrants crossed the Mediterranean, and many thousands drownedon the way. According to Mller, Europe needs toadopt a radically different approach to African migration. Along with Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen, he reaffirmed a joint security agreement with countries in Africa this week.

Defence Ministervon der Leyen said: Without security, there is no development and no development without security and no peace. Both ministers urged the European Union (EU) to work closer with African nations politically, militarily, and economically.

In January, Mller proposed the bloc should adopt apolicy similar to the Marshall Plan which helped rebuild the German economy after the Second World War. He emphasised policiesthat would cut aid or put sanctions on countries for not taking migrants back, like the proposalbacked by German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere, couldincrease the number of people making the trip to Europe.

Last year, Mller warned the migrant crisis had barely begun saying he thought there could be a further eight to 10 million people who would try and come to Europe from the Middle East.

One politicianwho agrees that the migrant crisis is likely only beginning is President of the European Parliament Antonio Tajani, In a recent interview, Tajani said he thought there could be as many as 30 million more migrants from Africa coming to Europe in the next several years.

Tajani, likeMller, said he thought the EU should be more active in Africa and said EU member states should invest billions into struggling African economies.

The Geneva-based International Labour Organization (ILO) put out a report earlier this year saying the economies of African nations simply couldnt keep up with their high birth rates which would inevitably lead to many migrating to Europe to find work.

Follow Chris Tomlinson on Twitter at @TomlinsonCJor email at ctomlinson@breitbart.com

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Germany Expects 400000 African Migrants in 2017 - Breitbart News

The great exodus of our time. Refugees in their thousands flocked to Europes shores in search, in hope, of a better life, and an opportunity to escape their war-torn homelands of Africa and the Middle East.

Perhaps inevitably, upon arrival, the much sought after Europe, is not quite the picturesque paradise it may have once appeared to many of those making the dangerous route. After having made the treacherous journey across the Mediterranean Sea, or the long trek through the sparse Turkish countryside, those who reach Greece may be, by some, considered the lucky ones, yet even once they step into the Europe, the problems of these people dont end.

In Greece, the migrants are placed in temporary camps of squalor and danger. During the winter, especially in harsh winters, the migrants are more than likely susceptible to sub-zero conditions and consequently many are vulnerable to disease.

Enter the Three Peas Group, a local group of friends dedicated to helping those migrants in Greece. Formed in April 2016, the organisation volunteers in refugee camps across Greece and helps to house the more vulnerable families in apartments.

The group does a great amount for the families they have housed, including covering families financial costs and rents, supporting lessons to learn English, helping with putting migrants in contact with larger organisations, and giving advice where possible.

Over the groups eleven-month history, the group has managed to place 25 families in flats, thats 100 people. However, whilst the action within the camps is key, the organisations focus also lies in the awareness of the public back here in the UK.

On the 22nd March 2017, the Three Peas organisation, visited the First Richmond Cub Pack, to inform the children about the conditions the migrants face within the camps. They explained how the group helps migrants by participating in larger projects, by fundraising, but perhaps most importantly by giving refugees their support, and allowing the refugees to have somebody to talk to.

After the talk at First Richmond, I talked to one of the volunteers at Three Peas, Martina Riot, who talked to me about the difficulties of being granted entry into the EU: [The refugees] all have to register by Skype. The problem is you have a certain time slot during the week, and all the people that have arrived in Greece, have to call up to get this interview so that they can get their first papers to be legally there.

Then they have to wait for another appointment, to have another interview, where they have to define whether they want to go for relocation in Europe, or if they want to go for family reunification so if they have somebody already there. So, it can take from six months, thatll be quick, to a year. We have met some people who arrived in February last year, and are still in Greece.

But what can the public do about this crisis? To many, this issue is one that seems impossible to deal with. Officials in Westminster and Brussels seem to have no answer to the tide of migrants stuck in Southern Europe, and therefore it seems implausible that we as individuals are able to help.

Martina believes that the most effective way for people to get involved is to raise awareness, and to visit the camps in Greece yourself, so to be able to see the crisis with your own eyes. If you have been there once, she says, You will never step back, you will continue to support [them].

After having heard the talk, the First Richmond Scout Group helped raise awareness for the migrants, and for local homeless people by completing several activities throughout Saturday 25th, showing what people can do, and the message people can spread if they get talking about these important issues.

Sometimes, it can be hard, hidden away in the cosiness of Richmond-Upon-Thames to remember the cold and desperate truth of the plight of many of these people who risk their lives to create a new life, only to be stopped at the front door of where theyve been longing to reach. It can be difficult to realise that this isnt half-way across the world, but only a three-hour flight from here. It is clear more awareness does need to be spread for these people, and the Three Peas Group are an excellent example of how that should be done.

By Matthew Lambert from Orleans Park School

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The Three Peas Group. The organisation shedding light on the Migrant Crisis in Greece by Matthew Lambert - Orleans ... - Richmond and Twickenham Times

When Laszlo Szabo, Hungary's deputy minister for foreign affairs and trade, visited the United States this month, he made a point of including Los Angeles on his itinerary.

I wanted to come to L.A. because there is a huge community of Hungarian origin, said Szabo, who is also his countrys minister of state for parliamentary affairs.

Part of that community was historically associated with the film industry, including Bela Lugosi, the Gabor sisters and Drew Barrymore, among others.

But Szabos mission to the City of Angels was not to talk film. He came to push investment and trade, and during his mission stopped by The Times to share his views on these and other issues.

The interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Why should U.S. companies invest in Hungary?

They are already doing so. We already have more than $18 billion coming from U.S. companies. The U.S. is our No. 2 investor in the country, after Germany.

What kinds of U.S. business are investing in Hungary?

Pharmaceuticals, for example. The automotive industry is quite heavily there. But also digital technologies [and] shared service centers. Were talking about 1,750 companies employing 93,000 people.

How would you characterize the relationship between the U.S. and Hungary?

Traditionally, we have been great allies, especially since Hungary joined NATO. Hungary is very, very active on many fronts. We have our troops in Afghanistan. We have troops in Iraq. We have been helping [the North Atlantic Treaty Organization] in policing the airspace in the Baltic states.

So this is one side of the collaboration. The other side is the economic collaboration. Theres quite significant trade between the two countries.

Is the Trump administration one Hungary can work with?

We certainly hope so. It will still take a few months until we see how things will work out. But we are very glad that Prime Minister [Viktor] Orban of Hungary had a telephone conversation with President Trump quite early after his election and its quite clear that in many, many challenges the approach of Hungary and the U.S. are quite similar right now.

We have had our [frictions] with the previous administration, but this doesnt mean that we were not allies all the way through. From time to time we felt that theres unnecessary pressure from the previous administration.

How do you respond to the criticism that Hungary is violating human rights in its treatment of migrants?

Hungary is trying to [uphold] the regulations of the Dublin treaty [which determines where an asylum seekers application should be processed] and the Schengen treaty [which abolishes border checks among certain European nations].

We are letting anyone into the country who is trying to cross the border legally. If they dont have any papers, we try to provide asylum for those who are seeking asylum, according to the Geneva treaty, naturally.

But there is one thing that is often misinterpreted in the press. Hungary actually never closed its borders to refugees or migrants. Anyone, even in the last two years, who wanted to cross the border legally [could use] border crossing stations. You provide your papers, your passport, and if you dont have one, you basically play by the rules of the authorities and by the legislation of the European Union. You provide a photo and you provide fingerprints just like entering into the U.S.

It was very strange for us to be singled out at the very beginning of the migration crisis in 2015. The black sheep in the family was the one country that kept the regulations and the rules, and those who completely disregarded them Italy, Greece they were wonderful people, wonderful countries, everything is shiny and peachy.

When Hungary started to build a wall, not to close the border [but] to protect the green border so people cannot cross illegally, just like the European Union mandates us, [then-]Chancellor [Werner] Faymann of Austria, for example, called us fascists. When Austria started to build a fence two months later, that was [considered] a gate with long wings. So this is what I call hypocrisy.

So youve closed the border to those you consider to be illegal migrants?

Its very clear. If someone wants to cross cornfields during the night, I dont think even the U.S. would call that legal migration. Also, lets not forget that those people who originally ran for their lives because of their political beliefs, or because of the war situation in their home country, they are only considered refugees based on the Geneva Convention until they get to the next safe place, closest to their home country. So basically, this is where they need support, this is where they need humanitarian help.

If you start marching through six, seven safe countries, by the time you reach Hungary or Austria or Germany, you have basically walked thousands of miles going through safe countries clearly looking for a better life. So youre not running for your life anymore.

So this is where the definition of a refugee and a migrant gets confused very easily, and we are quite disturbed by this fact.

Whats the solution for the EU?

First, lets talk about the damage. We believe theres lot of wasted energies within Europe, because many of the politicians try to gain an internal political advantage from the migration crisis. Quite simply, facts are sometimes distorted for that reason.

For us, it was a shock to see that Greece just let [migrants] through without any questions, put them on boats, on buses, on trains, and just sent them through to Germany or Sweden. And now look at Germany, look at Sweden. They have already decided that 50% of those people are not eligible for asylum.

In our view, you have to be smarter than this. You have to decide whether a person is a refugee or economic migrant outside the borders of the European Union. They are already in a safe place in Serbia. They are already in a safe place in Greece. Even better for Europe if they stay in Turkey, for example, or in Libya, or in Jordan. There, we have to provide humanitarian aid.

We need international collaboration in stopping the [Syrian] war. This is very, very important. We believe Europe as a whole, NATO, even Russia, has to chip in and has to collaborate to find a common solution to the war.

So is the EU to blame for the migrant crisis?

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A Hungarian diplomat talks about working with Trump, handling the migrant crisis and being the black sheep of Europe - Los Angeles Times

Wednesday, March 29, 2017 7:17 AM UTC

Even after more than two years since its reckoning, the European migrant crisis continues to rage like a fire that cant just be put out and in the latest twist, Austria, a member of the European Union has declared that it cannot (or do not want to) accept any more refugees under the European refugee scheme which states that the member states need to share the burden of incoming refugees. The deal has already been struggling for more than a year in its implementation. Under this plan, which was adopted in September 2015, at the height of the migrant crisis, refugees who arrived in the European Union via Greece and Italy have to be relocated and resettled across the European Union.

In 2015, Austria accepted about 90,000 refugees and called for an exemption. A temporary exemption was granted but that now remains expired. Now, Brussels have asked Austria to abide by the legal agreement.

The intake of refugees, who are predominantly Muslim in their faith and comes from war torn regions in the Middle East and North Africa have led to cultural integration problems in Austria and has given to the rise of the far right freedom party. Norbert Hoffer, the leader of the Austrian freedom party almost won the 2016 Presidential election. The current administration wants to cut down the support for Mr. Hoffer with atougher stance on the influx of refugees.

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Migrant Crisis Series: Austria wants exemption from EU migrant scheme - EconoTimes