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FRAN Q4 2010

2011-12-04

Notwithstanding some expected decreases associated with inclement weather conditions, at the EU level, illegal-migration pressure remained constant between the third and fourth quarters of 2010.

The peak in detections of illegal border-crossing reported throughout the second half of 2010 was almost exclusively due to increased pressure at the land border between Greece and Turkey.

Such a concentrated peak of illegal migration inevitably had measurable consequences elsewhere in the EU. For example, there was a continued peak in the number of asylum applications submitted by nationals of Serbia and the FYROM (and, to a lesser extent, also Montenegro) who had legitimately crossed the border into the EU following visa liberalisation for these nationals in early 2010.

Also, there was a large increase in the number of detections of false-document users. Although not formally captured quantitatively, there was also a clear trend towards the abuse of legal channels to enter the EU, such as bogus marriages and fraudulently obtained documents, particularly visas.