Wednesday

27th Sep 2023

Irregular migrant numbers to EU drop by half

  • The number of people attempting dangerous sea crossings into Europe has increased (Photo: Paul Keller)

The number of people trying to get into the EU dropped by around a half in 2012, the EU's border agency said Thursday (18 April).

The Warsaw-based Frontex says some 73,000 people were detected in 2012, down from around 114,000 the year before.

Read and decide

Join EUobserver today

Become an expert on Europe

Get instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.

... or subscribe as a group

“This was the first time since systematic data collection began in 2008 that annual detections have plunged under 100,000,” said its annual report.

The greatest decrease was noted along the Greek-Turkish land border. The border is a favoured entry point into greater Europe with thousands of migrants wading across the Evros River every week during the first eight months of 2012.

Pashalis Syritoudis, director of police in Orestiadas near the Turkish border, told EUobserver in November around 6,500 migrants passed the border in July 2012.

“In August, we had only 1,800. In September, only 71 illegal immigrants, in October only 26 and now there are none,” he said.

The drop followed the erection of a 10.5 kilometer barbed-wire fence, which closed off a loop where the river bends into Turkey.

An additional 1,881 Greek border guards coordinated by Frontex were also deployed with specialised equipment in the Evros border region.

The barrier and the extra guards lead to other migrants taking the more treacherous sea route through the Aegean Sea.

Detections in the Aegean Sea, between Turkey and Greece, increased by 912 percent with the trend starting in September. Reports of bodies washing up on the beaches of the Greek islands began to emerge.

An undocumented migrant from Cameroon in Istanbul told EUobserver some of his friends attempted the sea crossing but he never heard from them again. “It is too dangerous,” he said.

Others sought a safer but longer route through Bulgaria, taking the Western Balkan route in the hopes of reaching a border-free member state.

Meanwhile, Frontex says migrants in Turkey may be waiting for the end of the Greek operation as people smugglers seek alternative routes.

“Although the flow abruptly stopped in August 2012, there are reports of uncertainties related to the sustainability of the efforts and growing evidence that migrants are waiting in Turkey for the end of the operation,” notes the agency.

The agency has come under criticism for neglecting human rights in its coordinating efforts to detect irregular migrants.

The Council of Europe (CoE) – a human rights watchdog in Strasbourg – in early April said Frontex lacks transparency, “unclear responsibility and accountability, and lack of democratic scrutiny, particularly of agreements with third countries.”

The agency last year created a Consultative Forum on Fundamental Rights and established a fundamental rights officer.

The forum is mandated to advise Frontex’s management board and its secretariat on how to prevent human rights violations during border control operations. It has no investigative powers.

But the European Parliament’s civil liberties committee has since requested Frontex improve its search and rescue operations and has docked almost €10 million of its 2013 budget “until practical steps are taken."

Fortress Europe: a Greek wall close up

A 12.5km fence rolled with barbwire along the Greek Turkish border is part of a larger initiative to secure Europe from migrants seeking a better life.

Opinion

Orbán's 'revenge law' is an Orwellian crackdown on education

On Tuesday, the Hungarian parliament passed a troubling piece of legislation known by its critics as the 'revenge law', which aims to punish and intimidate teachers who dare to defy Viktor Orbán's regime. This law is a brutally oppressive tool.

Latest News

  1. How do you make embarrassing EU documents 'disappear'?
  2. Resurgent Fico hopes for Slovak comeback at Saturday's election
  3. EU and US urge Azerbijan to allow aid access to Armenians
  4. EU warns of Russian 'mass manipulation' as elections loom
  5. Blocking minority of EU states risks derailing asylum overhaul
  6. Will Poles vote for the end of democracy?
  7. IEA says: Go green now, save €11 trillion later
  8. The failure of the Just Energy Transition Fund in South Africa

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. International Medical Devices Regulators Forum (IMDRF)Join regulators, industry & healthcare experts at the 24th IMDRF session, September 25-26, Berlin. Register by 20 Sept to join in person or online.
  2. UNOPSUNOPS begins works under EU-funded project to repair schools in Ukraine
  3. Georgia Ministry of Foreign AffairsGeorgia effectively prevents sanctions evasion against Russia – confirm EU, UK, USA
  4. International Medical Devices Regulators Forum (IMDRF)Join regulators & industry experts at the 24th IMDRF session- Berlin September 25-26. Register early for discounted hotel rates
  5. Nordic Council of MinistersGlobal interest in the new Nordic Nutrition Recommendations – here are the speakers for the launch
  6. Nordic Council of Ministers20 June: Launch of the new Nordic Nutrition Recommendations

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. International Sustainable Finance CentreJoin CEE Sustainable Finance Summit, 15 – 19 May 2023, high-level event for finance & business
  2. ICLEISeven actionable measures to make food procurement in Europe more sustainable
  3. World BankWorld Bank Report Highlights Role of Human Development for a Successful Green Transition in Europe
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersNordic summit to step up the fight against food loss and waste
  5. Nordic Council of MinistersThink-tank: Strengthen co-operation around tech giants’ influence in the Nordics
  6. EFBWWEFBWW calls for the EC to stop exploitation in subcontracting chains

Join EUobserver

Support quality EU news

Join us