At least 55,000 illegal immigrants sought refuge in the EU during the first four months of 2014. Of these, nearly 26,000 made the dangerous sea crossing from Libya. But significant numbers are also coming from Afghanistan, Eritrea and Albania.
The sharp rise is four times as many as gained entry in the same period of 2013.
If the trend continues, the numbers for the whole year could be greater than the 140,000 people who arrived during the Arab Spring of 2011.
It is believed that a minimum of 14,000 migrants made it into Italian territory during just the month of May. The Central Mediterranean sea route, from Libya and Tunisia into Italy, is a key immigration trail.
There is talk of a backlog of potential refugees, perhaps as many as 300,000, still hoping to make the journey.
Italy says it has to spend €300,000 every day to maintain its sea rescue operation in its part of the Mediterranean. The number of migrants who have reached Italy so far this year has already exceeded the total for all of 2013.
Countries in the front line are bracing themselves against the arrival of summer when better weather and sea conditions historically have seen more people attempt the perilous crossing. Hundreds drown each year in overcrowded and sub-standard vessels.
People smugglers are increasingly using rubber boats instead of fishing ones, which put migrant lives in yet greater risk.
Other migrants have been using Calais as a jumping point into the UK. French police demolished two main squatter camps. People from a array of nations had been in the camps, including large groups from Iran, Bangladesh and the tribal areas of Pakistan.
