The number of people entering the European Union through irregular border crossings has reached its lowest point in three years, according to Frontex, the EU’s border agency.
Preliminary data from Frontex indicates that just over 239,000 irregular border crossings were recorded in 2024, marking the lowest level since 2021 when migration was already subdued due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The central Mediterranean saw a 59% drop in arrivals, while the Western Balkans experienced an even sharper decline of 78% over the past year. Overall, migration across Europe decreased by 38% compared to 2023.
Vít Novotný, a researcher at the Wilfried Martens Centre for European Studies, suggested that the reduction in arrivals via the central Mediterranean is likely due to “EU support for Tunisian and Libyan authorities, who intercept boats attempting to cross into the EU.”
However, cooperation between the EU and Libyan coastguards has sparked controversy, with NGOs in the Mediterranean accusing the coastguard of using violence during boat interceptions.
Groups like Médecins Sans Frontières have previously urged the EU to suspend financial and material support to the Libyan Coast Guard. Experts caution that the reported figures should be interpreted with caution, as they do not account for undetected crossings or distinguish between economic migrants and asylum seekers. Despite the overall decline, some countries, particularly in Eastern Europe, have seen an increase in irregular migration. For instance, the Canary Islands, a Spanish archipelago off the coast of northwestern Africa, experienced an 18% rise in irregular crossings in 2024.
