Undocumented Migrant Arrivals To EU In Jan-Jul 2018 Fell 43% Year-on-Year - Frontex

The total number of undocumented migrant arrivals to the European Union has dropped by over 40 percent in the first seven months of 2018 in comparison to the same period last year, the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex) said on Monday.

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 13th August, 2018) The total number of undocumented migrant arrivals to the European Union has dropped by over 40 percent in the first seven months of 2018 in comparison to the same period last year, the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex) said on Monday.

"In the first seven months of 2018, the number of irregular border crossings into the EU via the top four migratory routes fell by 43 per cent from a year ago to about 73,500, mainly because of lower migratory pressure on the Central Mediterranean route," the statement by Frontex read.

In particular, the flow of migrants through the main routes to the bloc dropped by 18 percent in July year-on-year, according to the agency.

Nationals of Morocco, Guinea, Mali, Tunisia and Eritrea as well as from Syria and Iraq accounted for most of the illegal crossings into the European Union, the statement read.

In recent years, the European Union has been facing a large-scale migration crisis. Hundreds of thousands of people, mostly from the middle East and Northern Africa, move to the stable and wealthy European nations, either fleeing from armed conflicts or looking for a better life.