dpa | The number of registered irregular border crossings into the European Union is 2025 compared to the previous year decreased by more than a quarter. This emerges from figures presented by the EU border protection agency Frontex, based in Warsaw. The authority registered almost 178,000 attempts last year. This is the lowest value since 2021.
Frontex described the decline as a “remarkable development” in its report. At the same time, the authority warned that the situation at the EU’s external borders remains uncertain. “The trend is going in the right direction, but the risks are not going away,” said Frontex director Hans Leijtens. His authority’s close cooperation with governments and partners in countries outside the EU has brought good results.
According to Frontex, last year there were significantly fewer irregular attempts to come to the EU on the West African route (-63 percent), on the Western Balkan route (-42 percent) and on the EU’s eastern land borders with Belarus (-37 percent) recorded. Frontex attributes the decline on the Western Balkan route to improved security measures and cooperation with Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Most of the people Frontex recorded crossing the border irregularly have Bangladeshi, Egyptian or Afghan nationality.
Western Mediterranean route is used more frequently
The most used migration route to the EU remains the central Mediterranean region, which accounted for almost a third of all irregular border crossings in 2025. The route from Libya to Italy was often chosen on this route. Compared to the same period last year, there was hardly any change: Frontex recorded 66,328 attempts to come to the EU via the Mediterranean in 2025 – one percent fewer than in the previous year.
A differentiated picture emerges for the route across the eastern Mediterranean. While the number of irregular border crossings fell by 27 percent overall, Frontex recorded three times as many attempts to get to the EU from eastern Libya to the Greek island of Crete as in 2024. This shows how quickly migration pressure and preferred routes can change, the report says.
Irregular crossings increased last year, particularly via the western Mediterranean route – i.e. from Algeria to Spain. According to its own information, Frontex registered 14 percent more than in 2024.
However, there was a slight decline in irregular departures to Great Britain. The number of attempts to cross the English Channel fell by 3 percent compared to the previous year.