Migration: Zahl der irregulären EU-Grenzübertritte sinkt deutlich

In the first eight months of the current year, the EU agency Frontex reported a significant decrease of more than a third in illegal border crossings at the European Union's external borders. Over 74,000 unlawful entries marked a 35 percent decline compared to the previous year, according to the EU border protection agency in Warsaw.

The drop across almost all major migration routes was attributed to ongoing cooperation with partner countries and preventive measures in the primary countries of origin for migrants, stated Frontex. EU Commissioner for Migration, Magnus Brunner, commented, "The European migration turnaround is working - the numbers speak for themselves.

Since 14 months, illegal border crossings have consistently decreased." The EU must continue to strengthen its external borders and solidify the progress, however, the report acknowledged that these figures did not reflect the large-scale migration movement from Morocco to Spain's Ceuta enclave at the end of July. Most border crossers likely returned to Morocco before being registered.

As of July, around 80,000 people had entered Ceuta, according to the Spanish government, while Morocco reported around 40,000 arrivals. Eighty-three people died attempting to reach Ceuta, sparking a debate on EU external border protection and Spain's responsibility. Frontex sources stated that while the situation at EU external borders remained calm overall during the summer, Ceuta demonstrated that a calm border situation could change within hours.

Smuggling networks do not disappear even with falling migration numbers, Frontex members said, as traffickers would simply wait for the next opportunity to exploit. The main routes of departure continue to be the Mediterranean, where migrants attempt the crossing by boat. The overland routes from Turkey to Greece and from Libya and Tunisia to Italy and Malta accounted for nearly 60 percent of the registered irregular entries.

While there was a significant decline on both routes, Frontex noted a 34 percent increase in the western Mediterranean route to Spain. At least 50,000 migrants reached the Spanish enclave.