Migrant crossings into EU spiked in May

The number of migrants seeking to enter the EU tripled in May compared to the previous month. It's a sign traffic along Europe's migration routes is picking up again after a lull brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.

European border agency Frontex recorded a sharp increase in migrants hoping to enter the EU last month, according to German media.

The spike comes after coronavirus lockdowns and widespread border closures cut the number of potential asylum-seekers able to reach Europe. As a result, traffic along the continent's main migration routes reached record lows in April.  

In May, there were almost 4,300 illegal border crossings, newspapers from the Funke Media Group reported, citing figures from Frontex. That's almost three times as many compared to the previous month.  

Over the first five months of the year, Frontex registered a total of 31,600 unauthorized crossings, marking a 6% drop compared to the same period last year, the Funke report said.

Along the busiest migration route to Europe, via Turkey and Greece, 12,700 cases were recorded between January and May — 28% fewer than last year. Most of the migrants were from Afghanistan.

Around 3,700 people also traveled from Morocco to Spain across the Mediterranean, a drop of over 50%, Deutsche Welle reported.

But other routes actually saw more traffic. For example, more than 6,900 people came along the Western Balkan route in the first five months of 2020, a 50% increase over the same period last year.

Between January and May, almost three times as many people also came from Libya and Tunisia across the Mediterranean to Italy and Malta compared to the same period in 2019. Most of those migrants came from Bangladesh, Sudan and the Ivory Coast.