The number of illegal entries into the EU increased, in 2022, by 64% compared to the previous year, reaching the highest level after 2016, the European border and coast guard agency, Frontex, announced on Friday, according to AFP. Last year, 330,000 illegal entries were registered, of which 45% were via the Western Balkans route. The number of Syrian citizens has doubled, reaching 94,000. On the Central Mediterranean route, the second most used, the number of border crossings exceeded 100,000, i.e. an increase of over 50%. On the other hand, almost 13 million Ukrainian refugees entered the EU, through the land borders, from Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova starting from February 24, when the war broke out, until the end of last year. This number was not included in the Frontex statistics on illegal entries into the EU. In the same period, ten million Ukrainian citizens are supposed to have left the EU through the same border sections.
Eugen Cojocariu, Radio Romania International
