Irregular border crossings decline as EU immigration policy stiffens

Detected irregular migration into the European Union fell by 42 percent to 166,000 in the first nine months of 2024 compared to the same period last year.

The statistics suggesting a reduced flow in migration, released by the EU border agency Frontex on Tuesday, comes as the EU and several member states adopt harsher immigration stances amid pressure from the extreme right, which made significant headway in EU elections in the summer.

The EU experienced a significant decline in asylum seeker crossings on two major migration routes—the Central Mediterranean and the Western Balkans—in January-September, according to Frontex.

The agency said nearly 17,000 individuals entered the EU through the Western Balkans, a 79 percent decrease year-on-year. Around 47,700 crossed the bloc’s border via the Central Mediterranean route, representing a 64 percent drop.

In contrast, border crossings via the Western African route doubled, with over 30,600 entries recorded in the year’s first nine months.

The sharpest increase was recorded at the EU’s eastern land borders, particularly in Poland, where nearly 13,200 crossings were detected, representing a 192 percent rise.

Populist policy

The drop in irregular migration comes as populist and nationalist political parties have gained ground across much of Europe, as demonstrated by their strong showings in EU elections over the summer.

That is pushing many EU states to implement harsher policies.

On Tuesday, a group of 16 migrants boarded an Italian navy ship for Albania. It was the first such trip under Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s controversial scheme to base migrants outside the EU while their asylum claims are processed.

Meloni’s right-wing government has also inked a deal with Tunisia, granting it aid in exchange for greater efforts to stop Italy-bound refugees who leave the North African country to cross the Mediterranean.

 

Also on Tuesday, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced plans to tighten legislation to boost the removal of those who fail to secure the right to stay in the EU.

“The EU’s migration policy can only be sustainable if those who do not have the right to stay in the EU are effectively returned,” von der Leyen wrote in a letter sent to EU leaders.

“However, only around 20 percent of third country nationals ordered to leave have actually returned,” she stated.

The new law is to define obligations of returnees and streamline the return process, she wrote.

Poland and its Central European neighbour, the Czech Republic, called last week for EU restrictions that are tougher than those in the bloc’s new pact on migration and asylum, which is due to come into force in 2026.

The rules, adopted in May, aim to share the responsibility for hosting asylum seekers across the 27   EU countries and to speed up the deportation of people deemed ineligible to stay.

The far-right governments of Hungary and the Netherlands have asked Brussels for an exemption from migration obligations.

Poland’s centre-right government shocked many last week when it announced its plans to temporarily suspend the right to claim asylum. Warsaw said that the flow of migrants across its eastern border – which it accuses Belarus of encouraging as an element of hybrid warfare – is a security risk.