„[…] In the third quarter of 2013 there was a massive influx of irregular migration in the Central Mediterranean. This, combined with sustained detections in the Ionian and Eastern Aegean Seas, meant that there were more detections of illegal border-crossing at the maritime borders of the EU than during any stage of the Arab Spring in 2011. Concurrent with this influx, there were more applications for international protection in the EU than in any other period since data collection began for this indicator in 2008 […]“

Frontex: FRAN Quarterly
Quarter 3 • July–September 2013
Warschau 2014

http://frontex.europa.eu/assets/Publications/Risk_Analysis/FRAN_Q3_2013.pdf