ONE MILLION refugees reached Europe in 2015 after risking their lives in perilous sea voyages, the United Nations refugee agency said yesterday.

 

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said 1,000,573 people have now arrived by boat during the year — 844,176 of them landing in Greece and 152,700 in Italy. Spain reported 3,592 arrivals and Malta 105.

 

Another 3,735 people were counted as dead or missing.

 

The latest tragedy was that of a seven-month-old Syrian baby who died, apparently of natural causes, in the refugee camp on the Greek island of Lesbos.

 

The UNHCR announcement came just a week after the International Organisation for Migration said the total number of people arriving in Europe this year had topped a million, including 34,215 who arrived across land borders.

 

Germany has taken in more refugees than any other European country.

 

Bavarian Social Affairs Minister Emilia Mueller said that nearly 1.1 million migrants have arrived in Germany this year, mostly via her state.

 

“We now need, more urgently than ever, an effective limitation of immigration,” Ms Mueller said.

 

But humanitarian charity Oxfam said more support for refugees was needed, as well as action to address the root causes of the crisis.

 

“The real issue here is a global migration crisis that is not being adequately addressed,” said Oxfam’s EU office head Natalia Alonso.

 

“The European Union needs to guarantee the safety of those who have fled conflict and political instability to seek refuge in Europe.”