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The third quarter (Q3) of 2013 saw a massive upswing in irregular migrants arrivals in the Central Mediterranean. This, combined with sustained detections in the Ionian and Eastern Aegean Seas, meant there were more detections of illegal border-crossing at the EU maritime borders than during the height of the 2011 ‘Arab Spring.’ There were also more applications for international protection than at any other time since data collection began for this indicator in 2008.

Syrians were the most detected nationality at EU level in terms of irregular border crossing (across several locations and border types) as well as in terms of clandestine entry, illegal stay, and document fraud at both the external border and on intra-Schengen flights. Additionally, Syrians submitted more applications for asylum than any other nationality. Across the spectrum of indicators used to identify trends, Syrians clearly stood out. 

There were 42,618 detections of illegal border crossing in Q3 2013 at the EU level — almost twice the level of Q3 2012 — and a four-fold increase on the first quarter of 2013. This was almost exclusively due to increased detections from the Italian sea border, mostly reported from Sicily and off the island of Lampedusa, where detections totalled more than 12,000 and 8,000 respectively.

Across the region the use of large ‘mother-ships’ became more common, an earlier-identified modus operandi involving the towing of smaller vessels for transfer of migrants when closer to shore.

In Greece, previously the main EU hot-spot , detections remained stable between the second and third quarters but were still high enough for Greece to be ranked number two for illegal entry. This is because Greece continued to be affected by two independent flows of irregular migration: via both Turkey and Albania. However, since Greece reinforced its land border with Turkey in August 2012, detections there have dropped to negligible levels.

Elsewhere meanwhile, detections have increased, particularly in the Eastern Aegean Sea and at the Bulgarian land border with Turkey, which in the third quarter ranked fourth and fifth among all sections of the EU external border. In these two locations detections increased going into the third quarter, mostly of Syrians, and to a lesser extent of Afghans. In Bulgaria, the 600% year-on-year increase in detections was the largest in the EU and was accompanied by an increase in asylum applications.

Nationalities
Syrians and Eritreans were the most commonly detected nationalities, followed by Somalis and Egyptians. While most migrants arriving by boat had set sail from Libya, many Egyptians had left from their own country. There were also increased detections of Syrians and Eritreans in Apulia and Calabria, in southern Italy, putting these nationalities on top for detections at EU level. Detections of Eritreans increased the most in comparison to the same period last year.

After Sicily and Lampedusa, the next most affected border section was the Hungarian land border with Serbia, where detections fluctuated dramatically throughout 2013 in response to a series of legislative changes affecting asylum seekers. Detections here were almost twice that of a year earlier but 50% down on the previous quarter.

Albanians
At the Greek land border with Albania, detections of illegal border-crossing remained stable compared to the previous year, almost exclusively of Albanian ‘circular’ migrants moving for seasonal work. Detections of Albanians using document fraud to gain entry to Greece decreased in Q3 2013, but refusals of entry and detections of  illegal stay increased for Albanians to 1 471, the highest level seen in Greece for several years. Given that Albanians were also widely detected in other member states, particularly using fraudulent documents to enter the UK from the Schengen area, and as illegal stayers and subject to decisions to leave in France, the irregular migratory pressure from this nationality remains high.

Document fraud
Use of fraudulent documents was increasingly detected in the Q3 2013 both in terms of detections at the external border and also of migrants making secondary movements within the Schengen area, or attempting entry to the UK. Spain, Italy, France and Greece detected the highest numbers at the external borders, together accounting for more than half of all detections at EU level. For the second quarter in a row, Spain reported more detections than ever before, the most common of which being Moroccans detected at either Melilla or Ceuta.