Fewer undocumented migrants have reached the EU in the past few months, the border agency Frontex says. But despite a slight decline in overall numbers, migration patterns on some routes have reached record highs.
There has been an overall drop in the number of undocumented migrants crossing into the EU: The border agency Frontex said on Monday (April 15) that from January 1 to the end of March, authorities had registered about 48,600 "irregular" attempts to enter the bloc -- marking a drop of 12% compared with same period last year.
The reason for the decline was a sharp drop in detections of crossings of the Central Mediterranean, which had previously been the busiest migrant route into the EU in 2023, Frontex said.
Around 11,400 people were recorded as having traveled this route between January and March this year, while this time last year it was more than double that number. Most of the migrants detected on the Central Mediterranean route so far in 2023 were nationals of Bangladesh, Syria and Tunisia.
The other main migration route that saw a significant drop in activity in the first three months of this year was the Western Balkan route -- a major corridor to the EU for migrants coming from the Middle East, Asia and Africa.
During the January - March period, "detections of irregular border crossings" were down to 5,500, about a third of those a year ago.
Eastern Med route most active
While Central Mediterranean crossings have fallen in numbers, the rate of migrant journeys on other routes has meanwhile however increased significantly.
According to Frontex, more than 13,700 people -- mostly Syrians, Afghans and Egyptians -- reached Europe from Turkey to Greece, Cyprus and Bulgaria in these three months.
This means that the Eastern Mediterranean route has been the most active path into the EU for irregular migrants this year.
Meanwhile, the route from West Africa to the Canary Islands was the next most active, according to Frontex: more than 13,500 people crossed the stretch of Atlantic Ocean to arrive in the Spanish-owned Islands between January and March -- the highest number for the first three months of the year ever recorded by Frontex, which began collecting data in 2011.
Most of those reaching the Canary Islands over this period came from Mali, Senegal and Mauritania, the agency said.
The route across the English Channel meanwhile also saw a rise in activity, with more than 11,600 migrants leaving the EU for the UK, marking an increase of 56 per cent.
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Counting migrant deaths
While authorities report a downward trend in arrival numbers, there has been no let-up in the deaths of migrants, as they attempt to journey on these routes to the EU.
The Central Mediterranean remains the most dangerous route, with at least 476 people reported missing so far this year, according to data from the UN migration agency, IOM.
The true number of deaths, however, is believed to be much higher, as the figures do not include unreported migrant departures or so-called "invisible shipwrecks."
In a press release on Monday, Frontex accused criminal groups involved in smuggling of adding to the dangers that migrants face.
In the case of Mauritania, on the West African coast, the agency says that smugglers are exploiting opportunities created by an increased demand from sub-Saharan migrants, cramming greater numbers into flimsy Cayuco-style boats setting out for the Canary Islands.
Poland reports rise in crossing attempts
In addition to those entering via the main migration routes, people continue to attempt to cross into the EU from Russia and Belarus as well.
In recent weeks Polish authorities say there has been a rise in crossings at its border with Belarus, with 669 attempts recorded in the past weekend alone.
The Polish border guard, which regularly posts such figures, reported the increase on the social media channel X.
A border guard spokesperson told the Polish Press Agency that there had been around 3,200 border crossing attempts so far this month and 6,500 since the start of the year, DPA reported.
Poland built a 5.5-meter high fence and installed an electronic surveillance system at its border with Belarus in 2022, after thousands of people had tried to cross into the EU the previous year.
Activists meanwhile have repeatedly accused Polish authorities of conducting illegal pushbacks of migrants at the Belarusian border.