Skopje, 1 November 2022 (MIA) - Interior Minister Oliver Spasovski speaking before ambassadors of EU member states on Tuesday said that the security situation on the country's borders currently is generally favorable. According to him, illegal crossings, smuggling of migrants and secondary movement of migrants still remain a challenge. "No serious threats to the public order and peace and public health haven't been recorded as a result of the migrant crisis," the Minister noted. A total of 22,806 attempts for illegal border crossing were registered in the first ten months of 2022, an increase by almost five thousand attempts compared to the same period last year. They were prevented mostly at the southern border with Greece, up by almost 30 percent compared to the same period last year. Most migrants originate from Syria, Pakistan, Afghanistan, India, Morocco, and Cuba, said Spasovski. Spasovski, who answered questions from the ambassadors after his address, said challenges can only be solved through joint cooperation. "By signing the agreement between the EU and North Macedonia on operational activities, conducted by the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, we established sustainable and permanent solutions to address illegal migration and cross-border crime all the while respect of human rights and democratic principles serve as the foundation for mutual cooperation," the Minister said adding that the agreement will contribute to more secure borders and increased security of the country and to efficient management and handling of the challenges stemming from migration. Citing Frontex analyses, Spasovski said that migration pressure on the Western Balkan region throughout 2022 has increased, especially on the northern borders in the region with Serbia and Austria after Russia's aggression against Ukraine. "The countries along the Western Balkan route in 2022 registered over 178,000 illegal border crossings, an increase by 75 percent compared to the same period in 2021," he stated. North Macedonia authorities have discovered 89 cases of smuggling of a total of 1,328 migrants, a significant increase compared to the period from July to October 2022. It suggests, Spasovski said, that criminal groups have intensified their activities to smuggle as many migrants as possible. North Macedonia has extended the state of emergency along the southern and northern borders so as to protect border security and tackle possible mass influx of migrants, he mentioned. Since 2015, an international joint operation, supported by the European Commission, is conducted along the southern border with police officers from Austria, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Poland, Slovenia, Croatia and Serbia being deployed, said Spasovski. The Minister also pinpointed international cooperation as being one of the main preconditions for efficient border and migration management with countries in the region, transit countries and countries of origin as well as with EU agencies, including Frontex, Europol, EASO; UN agencies, IOM and UNHCR, in addition to OSCE, ICMPD, DCAF, etc. Referring to reforms at the Interior Ministry, Spasovski said that two reforms were key over the past period. "From today's point of view, the two biggest reforms, namely communications surveillance and reform of the intelligence service, have met the goal. The National Security Agency was established as a separate body in line with NATO standards. The Operational Technical Agency Skopje (OTA) solved the large number of shortcomings that had led to mass breach of human rights," concluded Minister Spasovski.