The pressure is slowly becoming unbearable even for countries in the West, the prime minister says. Continue reading
Compared to the same period last year, the number of illegal border crossings recorded on the migration route through the Western Balkans decreased in the first three months of 2023, due among other things to the strengthening of border controls in Hungary, the EU’s border and coast protection agency Frontex said on Wednesday.
The Warsaw-based EU agency said in a report that migration data for the first three months of the year showed that the Central Mediterranean and Western Balkan routes remained the most active.
More than 54,000 people tried to enter the EU irregularly during this period, 26% more than in the same period last year. In March, the number of detections exceeded 22 500, which is 60 percent higher than in the same month last year.
The Central Mediterranean migration route, which mainly involves Italy, saw a 305% increase in the number of irregular border crossings in January, February and March,
with 27 651 attempts compared to the same months last year. In March, the number of sightings on this route increased almost ninefold compared to March last year, to around 13,000.
In the first three months of the year, the migration route through the Western Balkans was the second most active, with 14,858 illegal border crossings reported by the competent authorities. This is 22% down on last year. The drop is due to Hungary’s strengthening of border control capacities, in addition to the region’s visa policy catching up with the EU, Frontex said.
There were also fewer attempts to cross from the EU to the island nation on the sea lane shared with Britain than a year earlier. According to aggregate figures for the first three months of the year, some 7,419 people attempted to cross by sea, a 15 percent drop compared to last year. According to the EU agency, this decline is only temporary and due to adverse sea conditions.
At the EU’s eastern border with Belarus, a 28% drop was recorded in January, February and March compared to the same period last year, with 1,121 people crossing the EU’s external borders illegally. In March, only 27 people attempted to do so, the report shows.
The Eastern Mediterranean migration route, which includes Greece and Cyprus, saw an 8% drop to 6011 people attempting to enter the EU, of which 1899 attempted to enter in March.
The EU agency also reported a decrease in illegal migration numbers in the Western Mediterranean, mainly on the migration route to Spain. In this region, 1,946 irregular border crossings were reported in the first three months of the year, down 8% on last year. In the Canary Islands, part of Spain, 2,219 irregular migrants landed at the beginning of the year, 62% fewer than last year.
Featured Photo: MTI/Miniszterelnöki Kabinetiroda/Miniszterelnöki Kabinetiroda/Vadnai Szabolcs