ΑΛΛΗΛΕΓΓΥΗ ΣΤΗΝ ΕΕ: ΕΞΕΛΙΞΕΙΣ ΣΤΟ ΠΕΔΙΟ ΤΗΣ ΠΡΟΣΦΥΓΙΚΗΣ ΠΡΟΣΤΑΣΙΑΣ ΚΑΙ ΠΡΟΚΛΗΣΕΙΣ ΣΤΗΝ ΕΕ ΚΑΙ ΣΤΗΝ ΕΛΛΑΔΑ

156 The ‘hotspot’ approach: key findings from Greece ple came through the Eastern Mediterranean route and arrived in Greece. 13 Syrian nationals continue to be the largest group of new arrivals (39.8%). 14 However, the EU – Turkey Statement has altered to a large extent the arrivals rates as well as the asylum procedure. In particular, the arrivals plummeted, from 10.000 in a single day, the year before the statement, to an average of around 43, the following year. As in October 2016 , arrivals amounted to 27,711 people, versus 988,703 in October 2015 , 15 whereas the number of deaths at sea decreased from 1,145 in 2015 to 80 in 2016. 16 Finally, in 1017 , as stated in the report from UNHCR, between 1 January and 31 December 2017, 178,500 refugees and migrants crossed the Mediterranean Sea from North Africa and Turkey. Most crossed the Central Mediterranean from Libya to Italy. Arrivals in 2017 most commonly originated from Nigeria, the Syrian Ar- ab Republic, Guinea (Conakry) and Côte d’Ivoire. Due to the high risks associated with crossing the Mediterranean Sea, it is estimated that over 3,000 refugees and migrants are thought to have died in 2017 compared to over 5,000 in 2016. Most deaths occurred along the route from North Africa to Italy. 17 Concerning Greece, according to data gathered in 2017 , a total of 29,718 refu- gees and migrants arrived in Greece by sea. The majority were from Syria (42%), Iraq (20%) and Afghanistan (12%). More than half of the population were women (22%) and children (37%), while 41% were men. Arrivals in 2017 steadily increased after June, peaking in September with 4,886 people. They have since decreased, with 2,364 people arriving on the islands in December. Nevertheless, arrivals in December 2017 were 42% higher than those of December 2016. Between June and December 2017, approximately 6,000 more people arrived in Greece than in the same period last year (35% increase). Lesvos, Chios and Samos continued to re- ceive 83% of all new arrivals, followed by the Dodecanese islands (14%) and islands in Cyclades and Crete (3%). Worth noting that over one-third of arrivals in 2017 were children. Of those, 7 out of 10 were below the age of 12. Additionally, 12% of all children are unaccompa- 13. http://data2.unhcr.org/en/situations/mediterranean/location/5179. 14. http://migration.iom.int/docs/Monthly_Flows_Compilation_Report_November_2017. pdf . 15. http://data2.unhcr.org/en/situations/mediterranean#_ga =1.268639923.391985686.14 57969959. 16. https://ec.europa.eu/home-affairs/sites/homeaffairs/files/what-we-do/ policies/european-agenda-migration/background-information/eu_turkey_ statement_17032017_en.pdf . 17. UNHCR, Refugees & Migrants Arrivals to Europe in 2017, Jan. - Dec. 2017, https:// data2.unhcr.org/en/documents/download/62023.