Arab Spring prompts surge of illegal immigrants to EU

(ATHENS) - European authorities caught thousands more illegal immigrants in the first nine months of 2011 than the same period last year, the EU border security agency said Wednesday, attributing the increase to turmoil in the Arab world.

In total, more than 112,000 illegal immigrants were intercepted from January to September, compared to about 77,000 last year, with a peak of 20,000 in March, Frontex agency Deputy Director Gil Arias Fernandez said at a news conference.

The revolution in Tunisia and Libya's civil war made the sea passages to Italy and Malta the most popular routes before they dropped significantly as bad weather set in and the new authorities reasserted control.

Instead, many would-be immigrants attempted to enter the European Union at the Greek-Turkish border, which saw a record 9,600 people trying to cross in October, up more than 20 percent from the same month in 2010.

On average, 300 illegal immigrants succeed in crossing into Europe each day, Fernandez said. He faulted Greece and Turkey for not having more detention centres and the lack of repatriation agreements with immigrants' countries of origin, especially Afghanistan.

Frontex also said that Turkey, which does not require visas for many visitors, provides an attractive potential first stop for illegal immigrants seeking to access Europe.

Another effect of Europe trying to block the traditional passages has been the increasing popularity of a new route for immigrants through Macedonia, Serbia and Hungary into Austria, where detections have increased by 35 percent.

The loosening of visa requirements for Albanians led to a drop in illegal immigrants from that country.