According to the recent data published by FRONTEX, the agency responsible for EU’s external borders and security, the number of immigrants who tried to enter the EU illegally has increased in the year 2013 whilst, the cases of illegal migration at the Greek-Turkish border has been at its lowest levels in the last five years.

The report entitled “2014 Annual Risk Analysis” published in May by FRONTEX, the agency responsible of EU’s external borders and security, asserted that the ratio of immigrants who tried to enter the EU illegally in 2013 has increased by 48% compared to 2012. The authorities stated that while in 2012 only 72.500 people tried to enter the EU illegally, that number has increased to 107.000 in 2013. According to the report, the illegal immigrants come mostly from are Syria, Eritrea, and Afghanistan.

FRONTEX emphasizes on the following three points as it evaluates the outcomes of 2013:

1) “1 out of 4 illegal immigrants trying to enter the EU, is a Syrian citizen”
There has been a significant increase in the numbers of Syrian citizens trying to enter the EU illegally.

2) “The most common route used by illegal immigrants is the route of North Africa and Italy”
Immigrants trying to enter the EU from North Africa via Italy, account for 38% of the total of illegal immigrants.

3) “Detections of illegal border-crossing strongly increased on the Western Balkan route”
The fastest increase in the route taken by the immigrants to enter the EU illegally has been detected in the Western Balkans which coincides with the visa liberalization granted by EU to these countries’ citizens.

FRONTEX also drew the attention to the decreasing number of illegal transit at the Greek-Turkish border.
According to the statistics, the lowest level of illegal transit at the Greek-Turkish land borders have been recorded in this past five years. Nevertheless, 1 out of 4 illegal entries to the EU is still realized through the Greek-Turkish border. The detection of illegal immigration was observed in the Eastern Aegean Sea and at the land border between Bulgaria and Turkey. Syrians were the most detected in these routes.

IKV: “Illegal Immigration is a Mutual Problem of Turkey and the EU”

As it is well known, the prevention of illegal immigration has been one of the most important topics in Turkey-EU relations. Within this framework, the Readmission Agreement was signed in December 2013; and according to the agreement, Turkey agreed to welcome not only its citizens who has gone or has been living in the EU illegally but also the citizens of third countries who have been proven of entering illegally to EU via Turkey.

With the entry into force of the agreement, Turkey needs to control the transits at its borders and to build the capacity to prevent these illegal transits in order to implement effectively the agreement. As it can be understood from the statistics, the strengthening of the Greek-Turkish border has contributed to the decreasing use of this transit route by immigrants. Nevertheless, illegal transits from the Greek-Turkish border still represent 25% of the total transits.

Besides, according to the statistics revealed, North African- Italy and Malta route , and the Hungary-Serbia border, are also important transit points. The transit through Turkey to Aegean islands constitutes also an important problem. It is a widely known that immigrants tend to end up with immigrant smugglers and they undergo this transit period under very difficult conditions. Proper regulations must be put into effect regarding the fight with immigrant smuggling and to take better account of human rights, within the protection of the borders. In this respect, the legislation approved on Foreigners and International Protection in April 2013 is considered as positive progress in terms of accepting contemporary standards. It is without doubt that this law is regarded as an important legal instrument for Turkey in its fight against illegal immigration.

It is well known that Syrians, who were able to escape from the civil war in Syria, are trying lately to enter the EU via Turkey. An intense cooperation between the EU and Turkey is needed in order to satisfy Syrians who are under temporary protection with their basic needs and also guarantee their lives and ensure their security. According to the statement made by Turkey’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ahmet Davutoğlu, the total spending for Syrian refugees between April 2011 and March 2014, has been over 2.5 billion US dollars. Only 183 million dollars of this spending has been compensated by the international community. It has been acknowledged that a large portion of spending for Syrian refugees has been financed by Turkey alone.
As it is stated in the FRONTEX report, most of the illegal immigrants who try to enter the EU are mostly Syrians who try to escape the civil war which destroyed their homes and threatened their survival. It is essential that the EU takes also part of its responsibility in satisfying the needs of Syrian refugees and cooperates therefore more with Turkey. It must not be forgotten that irregular immigration which is one of the most important challenges of our time, can only be solved by taking into account immigrants’ security and well-being and only through better international and regional cooperation.

Economic Development Foundation (İKV)