The European Union has recorded the lowest number of migrant arrivals in five years, following moves to curb crossings to Italy and Greece, new figures have shown. But figures published by the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex) showed that while overall illegal migration to the EU has fallen to 150,000 a record number were now arriving in Spain. “The number of irregular migrants using the Western Mediterranean route to reach Europe doubled for the second year in a row to 57,000, making it the most active migratory route in 2018,” the agency said in a statement. It means Spain is the new gateway into Europe for migrants, overtaking Greece and Italy, with arrivals more than doubling from the 2017 total of 22,414. Some 769 people died attempting to reach the Spanish coast in 2018, many in barely seaworthy boats. The pace shows little sign of slowing, with Spain rescuing 401 migrants from the Mediterranean in the first two days of 2019, even though overall migration figures h
