No fewer than 239,000 people attempted to enter the EU irregularly in 2024, down 38 per cent from 2023, the EU border protection agency Frontex said.

The agency said on Tuesday in Warsaw that this was the lowest figure since 2021 when the coronavirus pandemic restricted migration movements.

The Frontex annual report cites one main reason for the downward trend.

“In spite of persistent migration pressure, intensified EU and partner cooperation against smuggling networks has significantly reduced crossings at Europe’s external borders,’’ it said.

The number of unauthorised entries through the Western Balkans fell by 78 per cent, marking the biggest drop across the EU regions.

There was a similar trend on the migrant route via the central Mediterranean from Libya and Tunisia to Sicily and Malta.

Frontex officials registered 66,766 irregular entry attempts there in 2024, 59 per cent fewer than in 2023.

In contrast, the number of unauthorised entries into the EU on the eastern Mediterranean route from Turkey to Greece rose.

There were 69,436 attempts last year, 14 per cent more than in 2023.

It was a similar story on the West Africa route across the Atlantic from the likes of Morocco, Senegal, and Western Sahara to the Canary Islands.

No fewer than 46,877 people attempted to cross, 18 per cent more than the previous year.

Frontex recorded the largest increase in attempted unauthorised entries via Belarus to Poland and Lithuania.

Around 17,001 such attempts were registered there, up 192 per cent.

(dpa/NAN)