The number of illegal border crossings detected on the main European migration routes rebounded in May from the record low of the previous month due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Frontex announced on Monday. The total number of illegal border crossings in May is estimated at 4,300, and in the first five months of 2020 at 31,600, 6% less than the same period last year, said the European agency for the control of borders in a statement.
By April, the number of crossings detected had decreased by 85% from the previous month to around 900, the lowest figure since Frontex started collecting border data in 2009. According to the agency, this Record decline was mainly due to the new coronavirus pandemic.
The number of irregular migrants increased by 40%
The eastern Mediterranean has once again become the most active migratory route to Europe with 1,250 detections of illegal border crossings in May, eight times more than in April, says Frontex. Between January and May, almost 12,700 illegal border crossings, mainly Afghans, were detected on this route, 28% less than a year ago.
In the central Mediterranean, the number of irregular migrants increased in May by 40% compared to the previous month, reaching around 1,000. Over the first five months, the number of passages exceeded 5,500, almost three times more than during the same period of 2019. The route was taken mainly by nationals of Bangladesh, Sudan and the Côte d ' Ivory.
The number of migrants arriving in Europe has almost quadrupled
The number of migrants arriving in Europe by the western Mediterranean route in May almost quadrupled compared to April, passing to more than 650. In the first five months of the year, the number of migrants rose to more than 3,700, or less than half compared to the previous year. Almost half were of Algerian origin.
In the Western Balkans, more than 900 illegal border crossings were recorded in May, 10 times the number detected in April. In the first five months of 2020, the total number of migrants on this route increased by 50% compared to the same period last year, to more than 6,900.
Economy
Faced with the coronavirus, "we are rediscovering the immense usefulness of invisible professions", explains sociologist Dominique Méda
World
Greece: Boats of returning migrants off the island of Lesbos
- Deconfinement
- Covid 19
- Migrants
- Video
- Coronavirus
- World
- Society