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Join on Telegram Rabat – A report from the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, also known as Frontex, shows that irregular entries into EU countries are up by 86% this year.
Over the first seven months of 2022, the agency’s preliminary calculations estimate that the EU saw more than 155,000, with July alone recording 34,570 of those, an increase of 63% over July 2021.
The Western Balkan is the region with the most irregular entries by far, both by number and increase over the past year. The region saw 70,770 entries, indicating a staggering increase of 205% since 2021.
The Eastern Mediterranean saw a 133% increase with 22,601 entries, most of them being through Cyprus.
Notably, pressure continues to mount on Italy as it handles a significant influx of migrants from the Central Mediterranean route. Unlike the past years, Egyptians were the top population in using this route, while Tunisians followed behind.
Additionally, the Western Mediterranean region which includes Morocco, Algeria, and Spain, saw a 25% decrease in the number of irregular immigrants, with most of them coming from Morocco.
Sea crossings towards the UK also went up this year, with Frontex attributing the increase to improving seasonal weather conditions and new stricter migration laws in the UK.
Frontex specifies that its report does not include Ukrainians fleeing the war in their country, putting the number of Ukrainians who fled to the EU at 7.7 million this year. The report notes that a significant number of Ukrainians have also returned to their country.
Irregular migration flows from Morocco have decreased over the past few months; this comes as Spain and Morocco have mended their diplomatic rift and strengthened cooperation in fields of shared interest.
Frontex was established in 2004. In addition to its own resources, the agency works with authorities from the Schengen Area member states who patrol the borders and carry on day-to-day operations.
