February 21, 2018//-The number of people illegally crossing into Europe dropped by 60 per cent in 2017, compared to the previous year reaching its lowest level in four years, officials said in a report released on Tuesday.

In 2017, no fewer than 205,000 people were detected to have crossed into the EU illegally, which was a significant drop compared to 511,000 in 2016, Fabrice Leggeri, the Director of Frontex, the EU’s border and coastguard agency said.

Leggeri said the number of illegal crossings had been gradually dropping since the height of the migration crisis in Europe in 2015, when about 1.8 million people crossed into the bloc.

The 2017 figure is still well above the pre-crisis average of between 72,000 and 140,000.

The number of migrants arriving through the Central and Eastern Mediterranean and the Western Balkan routes has dropped significantly over the years.

At the same time, crossings through the Western Mediterranean have doubled since 2016, reaching a new high of more than 23,000 people.

“Spain is now under high pressure,” Leggeri said.

Independent.ng