The latest statistics from the European border agency (Frontex) once again confirm something that Brussels has been aware of for months and what the forecasts of a month ago already pointed out: that the central Mediterranean route It has become the main gateway to the European Union for thousands and thousands of immigrants from North Africa. Only in the first four months of the year, between January and Aprilthe number of people who tried to enter illegally through this dangerous route reached 42,165 peoplefour times more than those registered in the first four months of last year and half of all arrivals in the EU.
Between January and April, border authorities detected a total of 80,700 irregular arrivals in the European Union, 30% more than a year ago and the highest figure for the period analyzed since 2016, according to the agency’s preliminary estimates. In the case of the central Mediterranean, the figure released represents four times the number of arrivals registered in the same period of the previous year, the highest since Frontex began collecting data in 2009. In April alone, 14,474 people arrived via this route.
As Frontex warns, criminal groups engaged in people smuggling use more and more makeshift metal boatswhich are hastily assembled a few hours before departure, and often the fishing boats tow these metal boats to the Italian island of lampedusa, its main destination. Frontex does not say so in its analysis, but many of the migrants arriving are now leaving Tunisia.
The rest of the routes fall
The Frontex comparison, which maintains 2,400 agents in border control operations, also confirms that while arrivals through the central Mediterranean are growing, the number of people trying to arrive through other entry routes is decreasing. It is the case of western balkans, which crosses countries such as Serbia and Bosnia to Hungary and Croatia, through which 22,546 people entered in the first four months of the year (7,140 people in April) although the figure represents a 21% reduction compared to the same period last year. Frontex attributes the decline to the strengthening of border controls, particularly in Hungary.
Related news
Arrivals through the eastern mediterranean47% arrivals through the Canary Islands and 15% through Ceuta and Melilla and the Peninsula. In the case of the Atlantic route, the new figures put the number of arrivals between January and April at 3,422 (1,203 in April) and 2,876 (830 in April) arrivals via the western Mediterranean route. So far this year, Syrian nationals have once again been the one most frequently detected, with 17% of the total on all migratory routes, although their number has been decreasing mainly in recent months in favor of nationals from sub-saharan countries.
For example, the number of Ivorians multiplied by eight and the arrests of citizens of Guinea increased fivefold. In contrast, arrests of Afghan citizens fell by more than half. In the case of the migratory route towards Spainthe main nationalities detected are Moroccan, Ivory Coast and Senegal in the case of the Canary Islands and Morocco, Algeria and Guinea in the case of the western Mediterranean.