The EU refugee crisis in pictures

This article is more than 12 months old

Oct 14, 2015 06:23 pm

European Union governments agreed last week to step up deportations of illegal immigrants and discussed creating an EU border force, among other measures to cope with hundreds of thousands of refugees from Syria’s civil war.

The bloc’s border agency Frontex said on Tuesday (Oct 13) that some 170,000 irregular migrants entered the European Union in September, taking the total for the year so far to 710,000.

Refugees have been undertaking chaotic mass treks across Europe’s open borders in recent months.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who has openly welcomed refugees, said those who were not fleeing for their lives should be expelled.

Although some 470,000 expulsion orders were made last year in the EU, fewer than 40 per cent of them were enforced.

German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere said last week: "We can only offer space and support to refugees in need of protection if those who don’t need protection don’t come or are quickly returned."