(Reuters) The number of migrants entering the European Union by [irregular] routes dropped overall by 38% in 2024, reaching the lowest level since 2021, the EU border agency Frontex said on Tuesday.
However, the number of people crossing from the EU’s borders with Belarus and Russia jumped 192% to 17,000, Frontex said.
Significant numbers of migrants or asylum-seekers also came from Syria, Afghanistan, Egypt and African countries even as routes into the bloc shifted.
Irregular migration has become a key issue in European politics with many far-right and populist parties campaigning in recent and upcoming elections, including in Germany next month, on promises of getting tough on migration.
