The number of detections of irregular entries by migrants and refugees through the European Union’s external borders on the Eastern Mediterranean route remains high, with a significant number arriving in Cyprus, according to preliminary calculations published by Frontex.
During the first seven months of 2022 (January to July), a total of 22,601 arrivals were recorded on the Eastern Mediterranean route (which includes the EU’s external borders with Turkey), which is 133% or more than double compared to last year. A total of 2,642 arrivals were recorded in July.
The number of arrivals to Cyprus, a total of 14,936 during the first seven months of the year, accounted for more than half of the total number of detections, marking an increase of 203%.
Most refugees and migrants in the Eastern Mediterranean route came from Syria, Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of Congo (Congo-Kinshasa).
Overall during the first seven months of the year there were 155,090 irregular entries detected, an increase of 86% compared with the same period of last year.
In July, EU Member States recorded about 34,570 irregular crossings, 63% more than in the same month in 2021.
The Western Balkan continues to be the most active migratory route into the EU with 14,866 detections in July, nearly three times more than last year. The high number of illegal border crossings can be attributed to repeated crossing attempts by migrants already present in the Western Balkans.
During the first seven months of the year, the Western Balkan route accounted for 70,770 crossings, nearly three times the total from the same period of last year.
The main nationalities on this route included refugees and migrants from Syria, Afghanistan and Turkey.
The numbers remain also high on the Central Mediterranean route with daily arrivals putting strain on the reception capacities in Italy, according to Frontex.
Frontex registered 42,549 irregular border crossings on this route, 44% more than in the first seven months of 2021.
In July, 14,821 irregular border crossings were reported on the Central Mediterranean route, 60% more than in the same month of 2021. Tunisians (30%) were the top nationality registered on this route in July, but Egyptians slightly overpassed Tunisians in 2022.
The number of Egyptians detected on this route is on the rise; they are departing mainly from Libya and are aided by criminal smuggling according to Frontex.
On the Western Mediterranean route, 6,434 irregular border crossings were detected, down 25% from last year. A total of 1,204 were registered in July.
Criminal smuggling networks attempted to use the calm weather conditions to organise simultaneous departures using jet skis. Most migrants detected on this route came from Morocco.
On the Eastern land border route, Frontex registered 2,923 irregular crossings, 32% down from last year. The main nationalities on this route were nationals of Ukraine, Iraq and Belarus.
Frontex notes that people fleeing Ukraine and entering the EU through border crossing points are not part of the figures of irregular entries detected. According to the latest Frontex data, 7.7 million Ukrainian nationals have fled Ukraine into the EU since the start of the war. At the same time, a significant number of Ukrainian nationals have since returned to the country.
The Western African route recorded 9,461 detections, 25% more than last year, with 832 crossings in July.
The number of refugees and irregular migrants seeking to cross the Channel towards the UK in small boats remained high with 27,990 detections, including both attempts and crossings, which represents a 55% increase on the same period in 2021. The people attempting to cross come mainly from Afghanistan, Iran and Syria.
Source: Cyprus News Agency