Migrant arrivals via Central Mediterranean down 59% -Frontex

(ANSA) - ROME, JAN 14 - EU border agency Frontex said Tuesday that illegal border crossings via the Central Mediterranean route from North Africa to Italy dropped by 59% in 2024 to 67,000 due to fewer departures from Tunisia and Libya.
    The agency said this fall and a 78% drop in detections on the Western Balkan route helped take the overall number of irregular border crossings into the EU down by 38% to 239,000 last year, the lowest level since 2021, when migration was still affected by the COVID pandemic.
    Frontex also said, however, that the Central Mediterranean route still had the second highest amount of crossings among all routes after the Eastern Mediterranean. (ANSA).