Europe sees rise in migrant crossings after record slump attributed to Covid-19

Only 900 people arrived illegally in Europe in April, lowest number since records began

Nearly 4,300 people were detected making illegal border crossings in May via Europe’s main migratory routes. AP

The number of migrants crossing into Europe rose sharply in May after a record slump the previous month, which was attributed to the coronavirus outbreak.

According to Frontex, the European Union’s border agency, nearly 4,300 people were detected making illegal border crossings in May via Europe’s main migratory routes compared with 900 in April – the lowest figure since Frontex began keeping records in 2009.

In the first five months of this year there were 31,600 illegal border crossings, down six per cent from the same period in 2019.

The eastern Mediterranean route continues to be the busiest with 1,250 crossings in May, eight times more than April. Overall, however, there have been 12,700 crossings this year, down 28 per cent from 2019. Afghans make up the largest nationality using the route, Frontex said.

People from Sudan, Bangladesh and Ivory Coast are the top users of the central Mediterranean route, which saw numbers rise by 40 per cent in May over April as 1,000 migrants made the crossing. Already 5,500 people have travelled to Europe via this crossing, three times more than during the same period in 2019.

Around half of the 3,700 people so far using the western Mediterranean route this year are from Algeria with more than 650 migrants illegally crossing into Europe in May.

And in the western Balkans more than 900 migrants were registered in May – 10 times the number in April.

In the first five months of this year migrant numbers on this route increased by 50 per cent compared with the same period a year earlier.

On Sunday Pope Francis called for better protection of migrants and, in particular, those stuck in Libya in North Africa. “There is cruelty. We all have responsibility, no one can feel exempt," he said.