Migration Levels Appear Concerning as Frontex Reveals That 330,000 Irregular Border Crossings Were Recorded in 2022
According to Frontex, the EU’s Border and Coast Guard Agency, irregular border crossings soared in 2022, following the second year of steep increases after the COVID-19 pandemic occurred, AtoZSerwisPlus.com reports.
In addition, the Agency points out that the Western Balkan was the most affected route and nearly half of all detections were recorded in this route. The main nationalities to have irregularly crossed the border to the EU included Syrians, Afghans and Tunisians, which altogether accounted for 47 per cent of all detections. A considerably high number of migrants arrived especially from Syria, with these arrivals doubling up to 94,000 compared to 2021.
“Separately, almost 13 million Ukrainian refugees were counted on entry at the EU’s external land borders from Ukraine and Moldova between February 24, 2022, until the end of the year, which are not included in these figures. In the same period, ten million Ukrainian nationals were reported on an exit at the same border sections,” Frontex explains in a press release.
The Western Balkan route witnessed 145,600 irregular border crossings, up by 136 per cent compared to 2021. The main nationalities reported included Syrians, Afghani and Turks, in addition to Tunisians, Indians and Burundi.
The number of detections recorded in the Central Mediterranean also was on the rise throughout 2022, with those increasing by more than half over 100,000 detections. The main countries of origin for these detections were Egypt, Tunisia and Bangladesh, with 2022 rates being the highest recorded for Tunisian arrivals on the route since 2017.
Additionally, a total of 42,800 irregular border crossings were recorded in the Eastern Mediterranean route throughout 2022, with Syrians, Afghans and Nigerians being the top reported nationalities. Although figures regarding this route had doubled compared to 2021 levels, those remain below half of the figures recorded in 2019.
As per the remaining route, 14,582 detections were recorded in the Western Mediterranean route, with the majority of those coming from Algeria, Morocco and Syria. Similar rates are noticed in the Western African route – 15,462 and the main countries of origin for the new arrivals were Morocco, Senegal, Guinea and Ivory Coast. However, detection rates of both these routes were down by 21 and 31 per cent, respectively, compared to the corresponding time last year.
The English Channel also recorded increasing irregular border crossings throughout 2022, with over 50 different nationalities attempting to reach the United Kingdom. A total of 71,000 irregular border crossings were recorded and the majority came from Afghanistan, Iraq and Albania.
