EU to Allocate $78Mln to Migrants, Refugees Problem Solving - Source

BRUSSELS (Sputnik) – The European Parliament’s budget committee has approved changes to the EU budget to allocate 69.6 million euro ($78 million) to European agencies responsible for migrant and refugee issues, a parliamentary source told RIA Novosti on Thursday.

The amended budget foresees a tripling of the funds allocated to agencies such as the Frontex border agency, the European Asylum Support Office (EASO) and the European Union's law enforcement agency Europol. The new version of the budget must be approved by the European Council.

The budget changes were prompted by the European Union struggles in dealing with an influx of undocumented migrants crossing the Mediterranean Sea from the Middle East and North Africa.

On Monday, EU foreign ministers agreed to launch a naval mission to combat gangs of human traffickers which operate in the Mediterranean. An EU source told reporters later that day that the bloc was preparing to launch five warships, two submarines, three aircraft, two drones and three helicopters during the first stage of the operation.

According to the source, the naval mission aims to collect information on smugglers while remaining in international waters.

UN figures show that some 60,000 asylum seekers have attempted the journey since the start of 2015, resulting in nearly 2,000 drownings in the process.