The number of irregular entries into the European Union rose 86% between January and July to 155,090 compared to the same period last year, the European border agency Frontex said on Friday. In July, the number of admissions increased 63% year-on-year to 34,570, according to a press release publishing the preliminary data.
The agency clarified that Ukrainian refugees entering the EU through border crossings were not taken into account in these calculations.
Crossings on both sides of the English Channel have increased by 55% in one year
More than 14,866 irregular entries, “almost triple” that in July of last year, were registered along the Balkan route, which continues to be “the most active”, with 70,770 cases detected in the seven months of this year. The main nationalities on this route were immigrants from Syria, Afghanistan and Turkey.
The central Mediterranean route was used by more than 42,500 migrants between January and July, an increase of 44% compared to the first seven months of last year.
The number of detections on the Eastern Mediterranean route remained high at 22,601 arrivals, “more than double” compared to last year. The number of arrivals in Cyprus accounted for more than half of the total number of detections, with most of the migrants coming from Syria, Nigeria and the Congo.
On the eastern border of the EU, the number of illegal crossings has dropped by 32% since the beginning of the year, to 2,923. The main nationalities present on this route were Ukrainians, Iraqis and Belarusians. According to Frontex, 7.7 million Ukrainian citizens entered the EU since the beginning of the Russian invasion in February.
Crossings on both sides of the Canal increased by 55% compared to January-July 2021, to 28,000 cases detected, according to Frontex.
Source: BFM TV
