Frontex: Increased number of crossings on the Central Mediterranean
Frontex, the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, published a news release regarding EU's external border crossings in July 2022.
Frontex noted that in the first seven months of this year, there were about 155 090 irregular entries to the European Union, according to preliminary calculations and this represents an increase of 86% compared with the same period of last year.
The announcement mentions that 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.
It is underlined that the border crossing pressure remains also high on the Central Mediterranean route with daily arrivals putting strain on the reception capacities in Italy. Frontex supports the Italian authorities with officers for registration and identification of arrivals.
People fleeing Ukraine due to the Russian aggression and entering the EU through border crossing points are not part of the figures of illegal entries detected. According to the latest Frontex database, 7.7 million Ukrainian nationals have fled Ukraine into the EU since the start of the war. Frontex notes that, a significant number of Ukrainian nationals have returned to their country.
Responding to the high migratory pressure, Frontex has more than 2 200 standing corps officers and staff at various sections of the EU external border, as well as in Albania, Serbia, Montenegro and Moldova.
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About Frontex
Frontex, the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, promotes, coordinates and develops European border management in line with the EU fundamental rights charter and the concept of Integrated Border Management.
Source: FRONTEX
