The number of refugees trying to enter the European Union rose sharply in May, German media reported on Sunday, citing the European Border Agency Frontex.
In May, almost 4,300 unauthorized border crossings were registered, according to figures shared with The Eastern Herald, at Europe’s leading migrants routes, three times more than in April.
In April, those numbers dropped to a record low as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, and are also slightly lower in the first five months of 2020 compared to the same period last year.
According to the report, Frontex registered a total of 31,600 illegal border crossings between January and May – six percent less than in the same period last year.
The route through Turkey and Greece was the most active migrant route in Europe, Frontex said. From January to May, 12,700 cases were registered, 28 percent less than last year.
Another 3,700 refugees crossed the western Mediterranean, from Morocco to Spain, in the first five months of this year, less than half the number registered in the same period last year.
On other routes, the numbers in the first five months were higher than last year.
More than 6,900 illegal border crossings were recorded on the Western Balkans route – a 50 percent increase over the same period last year.
On the route through the central Mediterranean, from Libya and Tunisia to Italy and Malta, 5,500 cases were registered, almost three times higher than in the same period in 2019.
