People smuggling

Rise in criminal smuggling gangs challenges EU policy

Europe's aim of smashing the smugglers' business model when it comes to migration appears to be struggling to produce the desired results in the Western Balkan region.
Fabrice Leggeri, the head of the EU's border agency Frontex, earlier this week noted "more and more smuggling activities".
Speaking to MEPs in the civil liberties committee, he also said there are now "more flexible organised criminal groups" and "criminal coalitions dealing with trafficking in human beings."
The admission appears to counter EU and national claims on curbing the smuggling trade in general.
Leggeri himself did not elaborate on reasons why.
But he was speaking in the wider context of the new Italian-led Frontex operation (known as Themis), while making the case for a more "integrated coastguard approach."