EU illegal migrant arrivals fall, stronger borders still needed – Frontex

The number of illegal migrants entering the European Union fell sharply for the third year in a row in 2018, the head of the EU’s border control agency, Frontex, said Wednesday. However, arrivals remain high and stronger border controls are needed, according to Fabrice Leggeri. Despite the drop in arrivals to 150,114 last year from 204,750 in 2017, the agency is still beefing up its border control measures through more staff and technology. “All EU citizens need to be checked when coming back home or leaving the EU,” he said, adding that maintaining security at airports was as important as security on the external borders. The number of illegal migrants repatriated from the EU by Frontex edged down to 13,700 in 2018 from around 14,200 in 2017, Reuters reported. Frontex and member states refused entry to the EU to 191,000 people last year, up from 183,000 in 2017.