Syrian refugee Mustafa Mahmud, 2, stands next to a security guard at the Oncupinar camp for Syrian refugees at the border crossing with Syria, in southeastern Turkey, June 20, 2016. Emrah Gurel/Press Association. All rights reserved. 2016 now holds the sad record of the highest recorded death toll for refugees on route to Europe.
4,900 people have died trying to cross the Mediterranean. This is 1,000 more than in 2015, despite the number of refugee arrivals in Europe going down by over 60%. At the same time, EU funding to tackle the refugee tragedy has increased. Its primary border agency’s budget increased to €238.7 million, an incredible 67.4% increase compared to the year before. So why is EU funding failing so dramatically to save human lives? Why is EU funding failing so dramatically to save human lives?
To start to examine the question, two Dutch organisations (Stop Wapenhandel and the Transnational Institute) have been digging into where resources are being invested. Research shows that a large part of the extra money for Frontex, which was transformed into a European Border and Coast Guard Agency, went to its military maritime missions Triton and Poseidon, to stop refugees crossing the Aegean Sea and the Mediterranean to Greece and Italy.
