Frontex, the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, has reported that the number of Illegal migrants trying to cross into the European Union in the first half of 2024 was reduced nearly by a third to roughly 94 000 compared to the corresponding period in 2023.

According to preliminary data collected by Frontex, “among the main migratory routes, the Western Balkans and the Central Mediterranean recorded the largest decreases in detections of irregular border crossings (-72% and -61% respectively), while the West African and the Eastern Land Border have seen the largest increases (+174% and 148% respectively).”

Central Mediterranean route, most active route, sees downward trend

The Central Mediterranean route, which saw the largest number of irregular crossings a year ago, continued to show a downward trend of recent months. Despite a decrease of 61% compared to last year, it remained the most active route this year with almost 26 000 detections. In June, the number of arrivals fell to 4 500, a decrease of more than 71% compared to last year.

“The second most active migratory route in the first half of the year was the Eastern Mediterranean, where the number of arrivals increased by 75% to almost 25 000,” says Frontex.

The Western African route continued to record unprecedented numbers of detections, with the total of irregular migrants arriving in the Canary Islands in the first half of the year increasing by 174% year-on-year to almost 20,000. In June, there were 2,600 arrivals.

In the first six months of 2024, there was also a significant increase in irregular border crossings at the Eastern Land Borders, with a sharp rise of 148% to over 6 700. A vast majority of of the people detected on this route were Ukrainian nationals.

With more than 2,900 officers and staff engaged in various operations, Frontex says that it “remains committed to protecting the EU’s external borders.”