Brussels, 26/05/2014 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission's fifth biannual report on how the Schengen area works (1 November 2013 - 30 April 2014), published on Monday 26 May, shows a significant rise in the number of irregular crossings at Schengen's external borders.
Situation at the external Schengen borders. Between November 2013 and February 2014 (the months for which data were available at the time the report was written), there were 25,936 detections of irregular border crossing. This is a decrease compared to the 4 months preceding the reporting period (July to October 2013), but a 96% increase compared to the same period one year ago (November 2012 to February in 2013). Italy, Greece, Hungary, Spain and Bulgaria recorded the highest number of arrests from November 2013 to February 2014. In total, the number of detections of irregular border crossing in 2013 was 107,365, 48% higher than in 2012. “The number of detections and consequently pressure at the border therefore remains high and might be further increasing, since the traditionally calm months of this reporting period have seen one of the highest numbers of irregular migrants ever for this time of year”, the report states. The people detected (for the whole of 2013) were essentially Syrians, Eritreans, Afghans and Albanians.
The Central Mediterranean route was the main route used during 2013, having registered almost a four-fold increase in relation to the previous year (to over 40,000 detections). For the first four months of the reference period for which statistics are available (November 2013 to February 2014), the number of detections recorded virtually multiplied four-fold compared with the previous year (9,175 detections compared with 2,177).
The Eastern Mediterranean route was the second most frequently used in 2013. The Commission is planning to issue recommendations to Bulgaria and Italy on triggering the early warning, preparedness and crisis management mechanism on the basis of Article 33 of the Dublin III Regulation, to support these member states in preparing to cope with the situations of pressure to which they are prone, to show solidarity, and to help the asylum seekers in need.
Over the period 1 November 2013 to 30 April 2014, the Commission the requested information on possible violations of Articles 21 and/or 22 of the Schengen Borders Code in two new cases (regarding Italy and Slovenia). (LC)