On October 6th, Reuters reported that during the second quarter of 2023, the European Union saw a notable increase in the deportation of immigrants, with a surge of 29%. This surge was primarily attributed to deportations from France and Germany, as the European statistics agency Eurostat disclosed. The reason behind this heightened activity is the EU’s concerted effort to manage an unusually high influx of arrivals.
Out of the total number of 105,865 non-EU citizens who were instructed to leave an EU member state, 26,600 were repatriated to other countries. This represents a 29% uptick compared to the corresponding period last year. Notably, a significant 76% majority of these deportations involved individuals sent outside the boundaries of the EU, according to Eurostat’s findings.
The demographic breakdown of deportations revealed that Georgians constituted the largest group at 9%, followed by Albanians at 8%, with Moldovans and Turks each accounting for 5%, and Indians comprising 4% of the total, as per the available data.
The EU currently grapples with substantial waves of both legal and illegal immigration. In response to this challenge, Germany recently announced the implementation of new border controls with neighboring countries, Poland and the Czech Republic, which typically fall within Europe’s Schengen Area of free travel. During the quarter in question, Germany led the way in deportations, with 3,805 non-EU citizens being returned to other countries. France followed closely with 3,005 deportations, and Sweden recorded 2,690 individuals being sent back, as reported by Eurostat.
Furthermore, on a related note, the EU reached an agreement on Wednesday regarding how to manage irregular immigration during periods of exceptionally high arrivals. This development marks a significant step towards reforming the EU’s asylum and migration regulations.
Source: reuters.com
