Warsaw, 11 August 2023 (dpa/MIA) - Record levels of irregular border crossings into the European Union were recorded in the first seven months of this year, with 176,100 attempting to enter the bloc, the EU border management agency Frontex announced in Warsaw on Friday.

This was the highest figure for this period since 2016 and represents a 13% increase.

In July alone there were 42,700 such crossings, a 19% increase over July 2022, the agency said.

According to the data, more than half of the entry attempts, or 89,047, took place via the central Mediterranean, for example from Libya and Tunisia via Sicily and Malta. Here, the number has more than doubled in the first seven months of this year.

The arrival of thousands of migrants on Italian shores has created political tensions and moved EU leaders to seek a deal with Tunisia to prevent people from starting their journey toward Europe from there.

The increased migratory pressure on this route could continue in the coming months, according to Frontex, as smugglers offer lower prices for Mediterranean passage in the face of fierce competition among criminal groups.

However, Frontex noted that the Mediterranean Sea remains dangerous and in the first seven months of this year more than 2,060 migrants went missing.

Frontex did report a decline along the Western Balkan route, the second most popular route. There were more than 52,200 detections, a drop of 26%, largely due to tighter visa policies.

All other routes reported declines in attempted unauthorized entries, the agency said.

Photo: MIA Archive