Illegal crossings into the European Union fell to 75,900 in the first half of 2025, according to the EU’s border agency.  

In a press release, Frontex attributed the 20 percent drop mainly to stronger prevention efforts by countries of departure. The agency has recently started operating on borders between countries outside the EU, whereas previously it had been restricted to the border between the EU and non-EU countries.

Frontex reported a “sharp decline” in entries through the Western Balkans, over the EU’s eastern border with Belarus and from West Africa. However, attempts to cross illegally into the United Kingdom from the EU also jumped by 23 percent to 33,200.

The Central Mediterranean route remains the EU’s busiest migratory route, the press release said, accounting for 39 percent of all irregular arrivals.

It is also a deadly route. Some 760 people lost their lives in the Mediterranean in the first six months of this year, according to estimates from the International Organization for Migration. In 2024, 2,300 people lost their lives in the same stretch of water.

Frontex currently has around 3,000 agents and plans to expand gradually to 10,000, but a recent European Commission proposal would increase its ranks to 30,000.

Meanwhile, migration remains at the top of the agenda for European politicians, as Denmark’s Prime Minister, Mette Frederiksen, has pledged to push for tougher migration rules during the country’s presidency of the Council of the EU.

“Our citizens expect us politicians to find new solutions with a good reason, and European citizens have a right to feel safe in their own countries,” she said. “That is why we need to strengthen our external borders.”