Number Of Illegal EU Border Crossings Up 4% In July - Frontex

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 13th August, 2019) The number of migrants illegally entering the European Union increased 4 percent from June to July, EU border protection agency Frontex said on Tuesday.

"In July, the number of detections of illegal border crossings on Europe's main migratory routes rose 4% from the previous month to around 10,500. Overall, the total for the first seven months of 2019 was 30% lower than a year ago at around 54,300," Frontex said.

The biggest increase in illegal border crossings was registered in July via the Western Mediterranean route.

"The number of irregular migrants taking the Western Mediterranean Sea route in July rose 22% from the previous month to almost 2,900. The total for the January-July period stood at around 13,000, 41% less than in the same period of last year," the agency said.

The Eastern Mediterranean route remains the busiest, with about 5,800 illegal border crossings registered last month.

"In the first seven months of this year, the total number of detections in this region was down 6% from a year ago to almost 28,200. Despite the overall decrease, the number of arrivals on the Greek islands in the Aegean increased by a quarter in comparison with the same period of last year," Frontex noted.

The agency also recorded about 1,100 illegal border crossings via the Central Mediterranean route and 460 more via the Western Balkans over the given period.

Europe has been struggling to tackle its worst migrant crisis since World War II since 2015. The crisis reached its peak just a couple of years later but has recently shown signs of slowing down. Spain, Italy and Greece are the most affected countries as they serve as the main "safe havens" for undocumented migrants who reach Europe by sea.�