EU: Frontex points to a drop in the number of illegal arrivals of migrants in 2020

Since 2013, there has never been so few illegal crossings of European borders according to Frontex.

AFP - WOJTEK RADWANSKI

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2 min

According to the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, the slowdown in the number of illegal migrant crossings is largely due to the anti-Covid-19 measures taken by the governments of the 27, both on the internal borders and outside the European Union.

And they are mainly heading towards West Africa and no longer towards Turkey to try to enter Europe.

There are also fewer and fewer women and children.

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From our correspondent in Brussels

,

Pierre Bénazet

Since 2013, there has never been so few illegal crossings of European borders according to Frontex.

The European border and coast guard agency counts 124,000 occurrences of what it qualifies as incidents.

It is in fact only the detections of illegal crossings and not the overall number of migrants since the same person can attempt to pass through different places.

There was on average 13% less last year than in 2019. The decrease is especially very noticeable in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Aegean Sea, which had become the main crossing points since there is a close decrease. three quarters.

In contrast, arrivals to Italy have tripled.

But most striking is the increase in arrivals to the Canaries from West Africa: they have increased eightfold.

As in previous years, the Syrians continue to train the bulk of the candidates for exile, followed by Moroccans, Tunisians, then Algerians.

There are also mostly men who have tried the adventure.

A quarter of migrants were minors in 2019, only 10% last year and the proportions are decreasing in the same way for women.

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  • European Union

  • International Migration

  • Immigration