Frontex said Tuesday that 37,200 migrants arrived in Italy through the Central Mediterranean route in the first four months of 2017, up 33% with respect to the same period last year. The number of detections of illegal border crossings fell 84% in the January-April period compared to the same period last year for the EU as a whole, dropping to 47,000, the EU border agency said.
The European Commission on Tuesday issued an ultimatum to member States not respecting their commitments on agreements for the relocation of a total of 160,000 asylum seekers from Italy and Greece. It called on "States that have not relocated anyone, or that have not pledged for Italy and Greece for almost a year, to start doing so immediately and within the next month". It warned the EC could open infringement procedures if no action is taken within the next month. A statement said that Hungary, Poland and Austria have not relocated a single person, breaching their legal obligations and the commitments taken towards Greece and Italy. The Czech Republic has not been active in the scheme for almost a year, it said.
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