Irregular EU border crossings fell 42% this year: Frontex

(ANSA-AFP) - WARSAW, OCT 15 - Detected irregular crossings into the European Union fell 42 percent in the first nine months of 2024 compared to the same period last year, EU border agency Frontex said on Tuesday. Frontex released its latest statistics shortly before a summit of the bloc's leaders in Brussels later this week, where immigration is among topics high on the agenda.
    The number of detected crossings into the EU "fell by 42 percent to 166,000 in the first nine months of this year", Frontex said.
    It said the biggest falls were along the routes through the Western Balkans and Central Mediterranean. Nearly 17,000 would-be asylum seekers crossed into the 27-member EU via the Western Balkans, a 79-percent drop. Some 47,700 entered via the Central Mediterranean, a fall of 64 percent. (ANSA-AFP).