Illegal immigration to Italy from Libya rises 277 percent

(AGI) Rome, Jan 13 - The number of illegal immigrants arrivingin Italy from Libya increased by 277 percent to 170,816 in2014, compared to 45,298 in 2013. There was also a 104 percentrise to 50,561 in illegal immigration to Italy, Greece andCyprus in 2014 from Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, and Egypt. Theincrease in illegal immigration to the Iberian Peninsula wasmore limited at 7,285 in 2014 compared to 6,352 in 2013. Thenumber of illegal immigrants arriving in the Canary Islandsfrom Morocco dropped to 231 in 2014 from 264 in 2013. A totalof 37,374 illegal immigrants arrived in Central Europe from theBalkans in 2014 against 19,951 in 2013, a rise of 87 percent.The EU received 1,077 illegal immigrants from Ukraine andBelarus in 2014 compared to 1,259 in 2013, a decline of 14percent. The figures from the Frontex agency were released bythe EU Commissioner for Immigration, Dimitris Avramopoulos.(AGI) . .