Overview
- Frontex counted about 178,000 irregular entries in 2025, down roughly 26% from 2024 to the lowest level since 2021, while warning border risks persist.
- The central Mediterranean remained the main corridor, with 66,328 sea attempts from Libya to Italy, virtually unchanged from a year earlier.
- Crossings fell sharply on other routes, including the West Africa corridor (about -60%), the Western Balkans (-42%), and the EU’s eastern land border with Belarus (-37%).
- Despite an overall decline on the eastern Mediterranean, attempts from eastern Libya to reach Crete tripled, underscoring rapid route shifts.
- The EU Pact for Migration and Asylum is due to take full effect in June 2026, bringing faster border procedures, strengthened Frontex coordination, and EU‑wide entry/exit registration.