WARSAW: The number of irregular migrant crossings into the European Union dropped by 20 percent in the first five months of the year, the EU’s border agency said Wednesday.
Warsaw-based Frontex said that a total of 63,700 crossings were detected this year, adding that the main nationalities were Afghan, Bangladeshi and Malian.
The biggest decreases in irregular crossings were seen in the Western Balkans (minus 56 percent), the western African route (minus 35 percent) and the eastern Mediterranean (minus 30 percent).
There was also a seven percent decrease in migrant crossings from Belarus into Poland and the Baltics to 5,062 crossings, Frontex said.
But it pointed to a slight increase of seven percent in the number of migrants crossing the central Mediterranean towards Italy.
Frontex also said that the number of migrants attempting to cross into Britain via the Channel increased by 17 percent to 25,540 compared to the first five months of 2024.
“Smuggling networks operating in the area are adapting, using simultaneous departures to increase the number of successful crossings,“ it said.
Irregular migration has become a political flashpoint across Europe, as seen most recently in the Polish presidential election on June 1 which was won by a nationalist promising to crack down on immigration.
Irregular border crossings detected into the European Union were down 38 percent to 239,000 last year after an almost 10-year peak in 2023, according to EU border agency Frontex.
But, led by hawks including Italy and Denmark, EU leaders called in October for urgent new legislation to increase and speed up returns and for the commission to assess “innovative” ways to counter irregular migration.
