While the EU states argue about asylum reform, the United Nations reports that around 186,000 migrants came to Europe via the Mediterranean in 2023 – a significant increase. At least 2,500 people died.
According to the UN refugee agency UNHCR, around 186,000 people have already arrived in Europe via the Mediterranean this year. Most of them, 130,000, were registered in Italy; This corresponds to an increase of 83 percent compared to the same period last year. This was stated by the director of the UNHCR office in New York, Ruven Menikdiwela, in the UN Security Council.
The number of missing and dead people between the beginning of January and September 24th was over 2,500 people, it said. The international migration organization IOM recently spoke of over 2,700 dead and missing people.
According to IOM, in addition to migration to Italy, migration to Greece also increased sharply – but the current figures cannot be compared with the very high ones from 2015. Arrivals in Spain, on the other hand, would be at roughly the same level year-on-year.
Insecurity and racism as causes of flight
According to the United Nations, the largest number of migrants departed from Tunisia, with more than 100,000, followed by Libya with more than 45,000. In addition to Italy, Greece and Spain, the boats also headed for Cyprus and Malta.
The sharp increase in crossings has recently led to tensions within the EU over measures to limit them. According to Menikdiwela, the high migration numbers from Tunisia are also due to “insecurity among refugees following incidents of racially motivated attacks and hate speech” as well as collective deportations from Libya and Algeria. “This comes against the backdrop of a deteriorating security situation in several neighboring countries of North African states.”