2023-05-17 17:13:11
“You have seen the latest figures from Frontex, the European border guard agency, which show that compared to 2022 there is a 300% increase in illegal immigration to Europe. ” AT France Inter branch Jordan Bardella, president of the National Rally, once again pointed to excessive illegal immigration.
An increase that seems surreal as it is so important. Several arguments emerge following the speech of the elected official. Some think it is time to act and “close the borders of the European Union to reduce this illegal immigration”. While others think that this is a mistake in figures: “He certainly meant 30%”, comments one of them. 20 Minutes make the point.
FAKE OFF
Jordan Bardella confuses the figures put forward by Frontex, European Border and Coast Guard Agency. There is not a 300% increase in illegal entries into Europe. However, the figure quoted by the president of the National Rally does exist, but it is only data for a single gateway to the European Union. It is that of the central Mediterranean, that is to say the south of Italy, in particular the island of Lampedusa, near Sicily, where many makeshift ships land.
According to Frontex data, just over 42,000 irregular entries were recorded between January and April through this central Mediterranean gateway, compared to just over 10,000 last year at the same time. This is indeed a record for this axis, which has been widely used for years by migrants.
There are obviously other gateways to Europe, and for all of these, admissions are down. At the start of the year, they recorded a drop of 30 to 50% compared to last year at the same time. These are, for example, the Balkans, Turkey, Greece, southern Spain, etc. The most frequented gateways will therefore depend on the nationality of origin of the migrants, and therefore on the countries which are undergoing major crises. In addition, controls have been reinforced at the Hungarian borders.
According to Frontex data, there is finally an increase in irregular entries to the continent of only 30%, in the first four months of 2023 compared to the first four months of 2022. This represents just over 80,000 attempts to pass a European border. And over the full year 2022, Frontex reported 330,000 irregular entries into European Union territory. Up 64% compared to 2021.
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