Frontex reports around 350,000 migrants entered the EU so far this year

Frontex, the EU's
border agency, has
reported that 350,000
people have arrived
in the EU so far this
year. The number is a
sharp fall from last
year's total.


Fabrice Leggeri, executive
director of the Frontex
border agency, told German
news outlet "Ruhr
Nachrichten" that around
180,000 people arrived by
way of Turkey and the
eastern Mediterranean
region, while roughly
170,000 crossed into the EU
using the central
Mediteranean route from
Libya and Egypt.
The number is a sharp drop
from the more than one
million migrants and
refugees who entered the
EU last year. Leggeri
suggested that the deal
reached between the EU
and Turkey in March was a
significant factor in why the
number had fallen.
Leggeri said that while the
deal has been working, the
EU must now turn its
attention to the African
countries from where many
migrants were departing.
Pressure from Africa
Leggeri said that while
ongoing conflicts in Syria
and Iraq would continue to
cause people to flee towards
Europe, the "pressure for
now is coming especially
from Africa." Overall
migration from Africa has
risen 30 percent this past
year,according to Frontex
figures.
The Frontex chief would
not say if he thought the
number of refugees would
continue to fall. "Prognoses
are always difficult. I would
be really happy if the
number of refugees in the
coming year remained
stable and didn't increase,"
Leggeri said.
Brussels is currently at
work forming partnerships
with various African
countries to help with the
ongoing problem of
migration towards Europe.
The plan is for the EU to
offer aid packages to the
countries concerned to help
them tackle the root causes
for migration - such as
poverty and conflict. The
accords would be in
exchange for being able to
send back asylum seekers
whose applications have
been denied.
The EU reached such a deal
with Mali earlier this
week. The EU is also
working with countries
including Niger, Nigeria,
Senegal and Ethiopia.