In an interview he gave to the German Die Welt, Leggeri stressed that even though the Frontex staff is expected to rise to 1000 people by 2020, it is impossible to deal with the refugee crisis: “Measures which aim only at managing the crisis are not enough, we must focus on the reasons which make refugees come to Europe”
“What mainly concerns us is that new tools in order to supervise areas from the air are established. Until now, Frontex had to ask for the aid of the member state with regards to the control of the borders by air. However, since last September we have put our own cameras in Bulgaria. Thanks to the images and information that we gather first hand , we can make our own assessments. This has proven to be very useful, particularly when a member state asks for our help and the rest are not willing to contribute with further resources”.
Leggeri also spoke of the Poseidon Rapid Intervention scheme which will start on December 28, and includes patrols in the Aegean and will enforce the Greek patrolling forces with additional boats, 375 interpreters, as well as specialized staff. He stated that he considers this contribution to be of paramount importance since the number of refugees might seem less these days but it will rise again when the weather becomes better especially since the Syrian problem remains unsolved.
The chief stressed that if Fyrom continues to exclude immigrants, then Greece will have to start deporting people much more systematically than it does now.
C.N.