EU to Create Return Office to Cope With Undocumented Migrants

The Council of the European Union said that a Return Office within the framework of EU border agency Frontex will be set up.

BRUSSELS (Sputnik) – A Return Office within the framework of EU border agency Frontex will be set up to assist with deportations of undocumented immigrants, predominantly economic ones, the Council of the European Union said Thursday.

Earlier in the day, EU interior ministers met in Luxembourg to discuss ways of tightening the control over the bloc's external borders and deterring the flow of refugees.

"While Member States are primarily responsible for carrying out returns, the immediate creation of a dedicated Return Office within Frontex should enable it to scale up its support to Member States in order, inter alia, to facilitate, organise and fund return operations," the ministerial conclusions read.

By the end of 2015, the European bloc will consider the deployment of the European Migration Liaison Officers (EMLOs) to Egypt, Morocco, Lebanon, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Pakistan, Serbia, Ethiopia, Tunisia, Sudan, Turkey and Jordan, according to the Council’s statement.

The European Union has been confronted with an enormous influx of migrants from the conflict-torn Middle Eastern and North African countries over the past few months.

Over 500,000 migrants have arrived in the European Union since the beginning of 2015, according to European Commission estimates.