More than 40,000 irregular border crossings into the European Union were registered between January and March 2022, according to Frontex. That's 57% more than in the first quarter of 2021. The figures did not include the vast majority of refugees fleeing the war in Ukraine.
Police prevented more than 600 people from crossing the Channel from France to the UK over the weekend, according to French officials. Meanwhile, hundreds of migrants and refugees arrived in southern England via the Channel.
In 2022, a reported 6,701 migrants arrived in Italy from the Mediterranean -- around half were rescued at sea and the other half landed on their own. Interior Minister Luciana Lamorgese warned that arrivals could increase due to a food crisis in countries of departure caused by the war in Ukraine.
Thousands of migrants from West Africa are taking the risky journey to Europe via the Spanish Canary Islands. As a result, aid organizations have said that 2021 saw more fatalities in the Atlantic than ever before.
Cyprus has struck a deal with the European Union to help improve the country’s migrant reception facilities. Under the new agreement it will also be easier for Cyprus to send back rejected asylum seekers.
The centers for unaccompanied minors in the Canary Islands have reached saturation point. Regional officials say that without state aid, new arrivals will be forced to sleep on the streets.
At least 220 migrants have been rescued from small boats south of the Spanish island of Gran Canaria in the Atlantic Ocean. Local authorities say the rate of crossings from Africa is rising.
Italian authorities arrested six Egyptian citizens on February 10 on charges of aiding and abetting undocumented migration and murder. The victim was a migrant who was allegedly threatened and beaten aboard a boat in order to force him to remain below deck, near the engine area, until he died.
Lithuania plans to install surveillance cameras along the entire length of its border with Belarus, the prime minister said on Friday. The announcement came only a few days after Poland began building a permanent wall to prevent migrants and refugees from entering the EU.
A humanitarian group has reported that 18 migrants have died while they were trying to reach Lanzarote in the Atlantic Ocean. Meanwhile, Spain's sea rescue service picked up more than 300 people – some clinging to a sinking boat.
The EU ombudsman's office has drawn up recommendations for EU border agency Frontex. This follows an assessment on whether and how the EU agency is meeting its human rights and transparency obligations.
EU Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson said the EU is seeing a "de-escalation" at the eastern border of the European Union.