(ANSA) - ROME, DEC 13 - EU border agency Frontex on Friday
said preliminary data on the first 11 months of 2024 showed that
irregular border crossings into the European Union dropped by
40% to 220,700.
The significant decrease was mainly driven by sharp declines
reported on the Western Balkan (-80%) and the Central
Mediterranean migratory routes (-60%).
On the contrary, the eastern land border registered the most
significant increase of 200%.
The Western African route, moreover, has already surpassed the
total number of irregular arrivals in all of last year, putting
the total for 2024 at the highest level since Frontex began to
collect data in 2009, the agency noted.
The main countries of departure were Syria, Afghanistan and
Mali, it said. (ANSA).