A European Migrant Smuggling Centre was created in 2016 by the Management Board of Europol (the Management Board) in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2016/794 as a Union centre of specialised expertise. The increase in the criminal activities of migrant smugglers and human traffickers involved in the facilitation of irregular arrivals into, and unauthorised movements within, the Union, the rapid adaptability of criminal organised groups, as well as the development of new modi operandi and sophisticated methods, urgently require a significant reinforcement of the role of that centre by establishing it as a permanent structure within Europol. Its name should be the European Centre Against Migrant Smuggling.
Text as published in the Official Journal, reproduced verbatim (including any typographical quirks of the source). For the authentic version, see EUR-Lex.
