Number of illegal migrants entering the EU is the lowest since 2013

The number of illegal migrants crossing the external border of Europe fell 13% last year to around 124 000 which is the lowest since 2013, European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex) said in a Report on 8 January.

It is mostly due to the coronavirus restrictions put in place, Syrians remained the most frequently reported nationality followed by Moroccans, Tunisians and Algerians, more than 80% of them were men, the report said.

The Eastern Mediterranean route which people enter the bloc from Turkey through Greece saw the biggest fall in the number of arrivals by over three-quarters to around 20,000. 

TMP / 16/1/2021

Photo credit: Ajdin Kamber

Photo caption: Barbed wire in refugee camp. Migrants behind chain link fence in camp. Group of people behind fence. Concept of prison, freedom, barrier, security and migration. Refugees on their way to EU.