Frontex warned early on migrants

Last March, Frontex-head Fabrice Leggeri said he expected a record influx of refugees into Europe, according to a report published in the German Sunday newspaper "Welt am Sonntag."

The German newspaper quoted Leggeri as saying last spring: "Our sources have informed us that between 500,000 and one million migrants are ready to leave Libya."

According to "Welt am Sonntag," Leggeri also told the German parliament in June "that the number of irregular border crossings from Turkey to Greece has increased by 550 percent compared to the previous year."

The newspaper wrote that the German ministry of the interior and the chancellery were informed about the numbers.

The newspaper criticized the German government for not having prepared early enough for dealing with the record numbers of refugees reaching the country.

Kosovo

"Welt am Sonntag" also reported that last February, Germany's representatives in Kosovo told the Federal Foreign Office that at least 800 to 1,000 Kosovars were leaving their country each day via Serbia and Hungary to reach Germany.

Up to 300,000 people may have left Kosovo by the end of the year according to the report. This represents about one sixth of Kosovo's population.

das/jm (dpa, AFP)