North African migrants are taking advantage of the current refugee crisis gripping Europe and are joining the millions from Syria and war torn areas of Africa to seek a better life.

Frans Timmermans, the European Commission’s (EC) First Vice-President told Dutch Broadcast Foundation (NOS) the numbers are far higher than being countries are being told.

He said:

“More than half of the people now coming to Europe come from countries where you can assume they have no reason whatsoever to ask for refugee status. More than half, 60 per cent.”

Mr Timmermans said he had sight of unpublished data from Frontex — the European security agency which manages cooperation between national border guards securing the bloc’s external borders

The commissioner said the countries they are coming from include Morocco and Tunisia.

Frans Timmermans believes closing down Schengen Zone may be an alternative if no solution foundAnd he took a tough stance on their future in the EU, telling NOS they should be turned around so that genuine asylum seekers can be helped.

EC President Donald Tusk fears that if the refugee crisis in Europe is not solved within two months, the free movement of persons and goods within Europe under the Schengen Zone agreement may have to be terminated.Commissioner Timmermans agreed this may be necessary, but added it could have huge problems for business and transport with queues at borders coming back.

The global number of migrants is at 20m while 60m are ‘forcibly displaced’ according to the UNHCR.He said:“If there is no hastened progress made, we will be forced to go back to incorporating internal boarder controls.

If we go down the path of internal border controls, we are taking a huge risk.”