131,724
Between January 1 and February 29, 2016, 131,724 migrants and refugees crossed the Mediterranean Sea, of whom 122,637 arrived in EU member Greece, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). For its part the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) said 120,065 people arrived by sea from January 1 to 24 February, 2016. According to the IOM’s figures, Greece took in 111,099 migrants and refugees. On February 24, 98,752 migrants had been registered in Croatia, 95,744 in Slovenia, 2,476 in Hungary and 821 in Bulgaria, according to the authorities in the EU states concerned. Non-EU member Macedonia says it has registered 87,036, while Serbia has tallied 87,704.
418
According to the IOM, from January 1 to February 24, 2016, at least 418 migrants and refugees lost their lives trying to cross the Mediterranean. According to the UNHCR, 410 people have died since the beginning of the year. The route in the eastern Mediterranean linking Turkey and Greece continued to be the most dangerous, with a toll of 321 dead. In 2015, 3,770 migrants lost their lives trying to reach Europe, according to the IOM.
48% Syrians
According to the IOM, citing Greek coast guards, between February 1 and 21, 48% of the migrants who arrived in Greece came from Syria, while 25% came from Afghanistan and 17% from Iraq. According to an IOM official, a rise in arrivals in Italy since the beginning of 2016 can be explained by a growing number of migrants from sub-Saharan Africa, in particular from Nigeria, Gambia and Mali.
10,000
The crisis is particularly acute at the Greek border crossing of Idomeni where more than 10,000 are stuck after Balkan states including neighbouring Macedonia imposed tighter controls. In the northern French port of Calais, hundreds of migrants who want to reach Britain languish in a sprawling makeshift camp where between 3,700 and 7,000 mainly Syrian, Afghan and Sudanese migrants are crammed.
€700m
On Wednesday, the EU proposed a humanitarian aid budget of €700m to help front-line member states face up to the massive influx. The move came after Athens submitted an emergency plan to the EU to help cope with in 100,000 refugees, estimating it needs €480m to cope.
