A 42 per cent decrease has been recorded in irregular border crossings into the European Union in the first nine months of 2024, compared to the same period last year, the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex) has revealed.
From January to September 2024, 166,000 irregular border crossing attempts were registered in the EU’s external borders, compared to 279,350 detected in 2023, in the same period, which accounted for the highest total for the period since 2016, Schengen.News reports.
Frontex’s statistics came ahead of the EU fall summit. The migration situation is also expected to be discussed in the EU leaders’ summit that is scheduled to take place in Brussels on October 17-18.
Western Balkans & Central Mediterranean Routes Experienced Most Significant Decreases
Through a statement, Frontex noted that the most significant decrease in irregular border crossing attempts was registered on the Western Balkan and Central Mediterranean routes, 79 per cent and 64 per cent, respectively.
Syrians, Afghans and Turkish nationals were detected the most on this route.
In the same period, in 2023, the Western Balkan was the second most active route, with 81,800 detections.
A notable decrease was also registered in the Central Mediterranean route, with 47,700 detections, or a 64 per cent decline compared to the first nine months of 2023.
The top nationalities on this route were Bangladesh, Syria, and Tunisia.
From January-September period last year, the Central Mediterranean remained the most active migratory route, with more than 131,600 detections reported by national authorities.
Eastern Land Border & Western African Busiest Migratory Routes
The European Border and Coast Guard Agency, in its recent statement, revealed that the Eastern land border and Western African route experienced the highest increases, 192 per cent and 100 per cent, respectively.
Ukrainians, Somalians, and Syrians were detected the most in the Eastern Land Border.
In the Western African route, the number of detections also remained high, with 30,600 detections, double the number of detections registered in the first three quarters of 2023.
The nationals of Mali, Senegal, and Morocco attempted the most to reach European countries by using this route.
In the same period last year, the number of irregular entry detections in the Western African route stood at 14,564.
An upward trend was also registered in the Eastern Mediterranean route, with a 15 per cent increase in irregular border crossing attempts in the January-September period of this year, to 45,600, compared to 36,099 registered in the same period in 2023.
In the Eastern Mediterranean route, nationals of Syria, Afghanistan and Egypt made the most attempts to reach Europe.
An increase was also registered on the Channel route, with the number of detections in the first nine months of 2024 increasing by 2 per cent, reaching 47,514.
Source: https://schengen.news/42-fewer-irregular-border-crossing-attempts-at-eus-external-borders-in-first-9-months-of-2024/
