More than two hundred thousand migrants are waiting to set out, the Chief Security Advisor to the Prime Minister said on the Friday evening programme of the public service television news channel M1.

According to György Bakondi, there are around 100,000 migrants in Greece and another 130,000 in transit on the Balkans route. If they set out, the number of illegal border-crossing attempts could increase significantly in the coming weeks.

He said the disease control measures implemented by nation states in connection with the epidemic led to restrictions both on the crossability of borders and internal movement. As a result, some of the people smugglers have suspended their activities, and in consequence, illegal migration has decreased considerably, he observed.

At the same time, he added that if the restrictions are lifted – a process which has already started on the Balkans route – then people smugglers are expected to resume their activities.

In Mr Bakondi’s opinion, the coronavirus epidemic could have an impact on groups which seek to reach Europe in the hope of economic advancement. He took the view that health care problems and economic decline in the “issuer” countries could equally induce migrants to set out.

From among changes in the patterns of illegal migration in the recent past, he highlighted that in relation to Spain the Canary Islands had become the new preferred destination rather than the continent, and that while earlier migrants had typically set out from Libya, at this time more and more people were starting from Tunisia and Algeria.

(Cabinet Office of the Prime Minister/MTI)