At the EU level illegal migration increased between the second and third quarters of 2010, probably above and beyond what might be expected from seasonal increases at this time of year.
The increase in detections of illegal border-crossing at the EU level is almost exclusively the result of increased pressure in Greece, where around four-fifths of all detections in the EU were reported.
This unprecedented peak in illegal border-crossings at the Greek land border with Turkey is the result of a shift from the sea to the land border with Turkey, plus a large increase in the absolute number of migrants of many different nationalities using Turkey as an entry point to illegally enter the EU.
This influx of migrants has had two consequences detectable in other Member States. The first is detections of migrants secondary movements. The second consequence is an EU-wide increase in the number of asylum applications.
Unrelated to the situation in Greece, asylum applications submitted by nationals from Serbia and FYROM also more than doubled in the EU compared to the previous quarter, following visa liberalisation for these nationalities at the beginning of 2010.