The intergovernmental criminal police office in Europe (Europol) announced the creation of a team of experts to combat illegal immigration networks in the Mediterranean.
According to AFP the team is composed of experts from 13 European countries, including France, Germany and Italy, the team gathers information, analyzes and distributes them to the Member States and will be based in The Hague in Europol buildings.
Some 220,000 migrants have crossed the Mediterranean last year, often in terrible conditions, according to Europol: more than 3,000 people died in 2014 and the number of deaths already reached 1,000 migrants since early 2015.
Illegal immigration to the EU has more than tripled in the beginning of the year compared to the previous year, according to the European Agency for border control, Frontex.