Migration: Irregular border crossings in the EU are declining significantly

In the European Union, significantly fewer irregular border crossings were recorded in the first four months of the year than in the same period last year. The total number fell by almost 30 percent to around 47,000, according to new EU data obtained by the German Press Agency. The sharpest decline was recorded on the so-called Western Balkan route, where only around 3,100 people were counted – a decrease of 58 percent.

But numbers also declined on all other major routes. On the central Mediterranean route from North Africa toward Italy, for example, there was a three percent decrease in irregular border crossings, to around 15,700. On the eastern Mediterranean route toward Greece, the number fell by 30 percent to around 12,200. And only around 3,500 people (down 10 percent) crossed the sea toward the Spanish mainland, and just over 10,400 (down 34 percent) crossed the sea toward the Canary Islands.

Magnus Brunner, the EU Commissioner responsible for migration, sees these developments as evidence of the success of the common European policy. "This shows that our measures are working, especially the increased engagement with partner countries outside the EU," said the Austrian. Together with the EU member states, they are working to further curb irregular migration. This also includes putting a stop to human trafficking, said Brunner. According to estimates, these people sometimes receive five-figure sums for organizing travel. Most people recently arrived from Bangladesh, Afghanistan, and Mali.

The latest data was compiled by the Warsaw-based EU border agency Frontex . According to its own figures, it currently has 3,200 officers deployed along the EU's external borders. They work with national authorities and also monitor maritime areas where migrants repeatedly find themselves in distress. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) estimates that 555 people lost their lives at sea in the first four months of this year alone.

The latest EU figures could pose a problem for the new German federal government. The reason is that it attributes the currently increased controls at the German borders, among other things, to insufficient progress in EU migration policy. In principle, only the EU's external borders are supposed to be controlled in the so-called Schengen Area in order to enable the free movement of people and goods within the Schengen Area without burdensome controls. Furthermore, the new Frontex figures show that not all refugees arriving in the EU intend to stay there permanently. In the first four months of the year, around 18,100 irregular border crossings or attempted border crossings towards Great Britain were registered. This was five percent more than in the same period last year.