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The Eastern Mediterranean is the third largest migratory corridor in terms of the volume of irregular crossings of migrants and asylum seekers detected in the first four months of 2022, according to preliminary estimates by the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex).
The increase recorded in the Eastern Mediterranean corridor is mainly due to arrivals in Cyprus. In fact, more than half of the arrivals in this corridor are from Cyprus, with the main nationalities in terms of numbers coming from Syria, Nigeria and Congo.
At EU level, irregular arrivals increased by 69% in the first four months of the year compared to the same period last year, reaching 57.800.
In April alone, a total of 15,000 irregular crossings were recorded, 79% more than in April last year.
In particular, most irregular crossings, more than half of the total at the EU's external borders between January and April, were recorded on the Western Balkan route. A total of 27,172 crossings were recorded, an increase of 130% compared to the same period last year. The main nationalities include Syrian and Afghan citizens.
The second highest number of irregular crossings was recorded on the Central Mediterranean route. In particular, 9,300 crossings were recorded in the first four months of the year, a 4% increase compared to last year. The main nationalities were Egyptians, Bangladeshis and Tunisians.
In the Eastern Mediterranean corridor, 9,109 irregular arrivals were recorded between January and April, an increase of 86% compared to last year.
Frontex estimates also include the land borders in Eastern Europe, where 1.683 irregular crossings, five times more than last year, with most involving citizens of Ukraine, Iraq and Belarus.
Still, the number of migrants crossing the Channel from the EU to the UK has continued to rise, with 12,800 attempts recorded, a 160% increase on last year. Most are from Afghanistan, Syria and Iran.
As noted in the press release, the above data does not include refugees from Ukraine entering the EU via border crossings. Since the start of the Russian invasion, more than 5.9 million refugees from Ukraine and Moldova have arrived in the EU, it adds.
Frontex currently has a presence of more than 2,000 permanent corps members at the EU's external borders as well as in Albania, Serbia, Montenegro and Moldova.
It should be noted that the estimates refer to incidents of irregular crossing detections and that the same person can be counted more than once as they attempt to enter the EU from different points.
Source: CNA
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