The spotlight is back on Italy as the number of migrant arrivals there has overtaken those in Greece for the first time in nearly a year.
According to Frontex, the EU border agency, 8,370 migrants landed in Italy compared to some 2,700 in Greece.
“The total for all of April is well below the number of people we often saw reaching just the island of Lesbos on a daily basis during last year’s peak months,” Frontex director Fabrice Leggeri said.
There has been a “drastic reduction” in the number of migrants arriving on the Greek islands, as well as significant declines in numbers reaching central Europe.
According to Frontex, the majority of arrivals in central Europe in April were of Eritrean, Egyptian and Nigerian origin while in Greece the majority were Syrian nationals.
Increased controls at the Greek – Macedonia border as well as recent pact with Turkey that will see Turkey take thousands of asylum seekers from Greece were both cited as key factors in the stark drop in arrivals.
