Irregular Border Crossings at EU Borders Decrease by 30%

However, the European Union's policies aimed at closing borders and increasing deterrence are pushing people to take more dangerous routes.

According to the European Union's border agency Frontex, irregular border crossings to Europe in the first quarter of this year were 33,600 fewer than in the same period last year.

Frontex noted that this decline was observed across all major migration routes. The largest decrease, 64%, occurred along the route passing through Albania, Serbia, Montenegro, and North Macedonia, while crossings to the UK saw a 4% drop.

This decline is argued to come at a significant humanitarian cost, with the EU being indirectly responsible for these human rights violations.

"People are drowning in the Mediterranean, beaten and pushed back at the Poland-Belarus border, and others are trapped in swamps, forests, and deserts at EU borders or along the outskirts."

According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), at least 555 people lost their lives in the first three months of this year while trying to cross the Mediterranean or the Atlantic to Europe. Last year, over 3,500 people died along these routes.

Despite the downward trend, the number of deaths remains alarmingly high.

According to UNICEF, in the past 10 years, approximately 3,500 children who attempted to reach Italy via the Central Mediterranean route have either died or gone missing. Source: Euronews Turkish | Photo: AP