The number of irregular border crossings into the European Union fell by almost 40% in the first five months of 2026 compared with the same period last year, according to preliminary data from the EU border agency Frontex. Nearly 39,000 crossings were recorded.
The figures were published as the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum came into effect, introducing a single, standardised screening process at the bloc’s external borders. Frontex officers support member states in establishing the nationality of arrivals, collecting biometric data and verifying documents.
“From today, everyone arriving at Europe’s external borders will need to be identified, registered and screened to the same standard, wherever they are,” said Frontex Executive Director Hans Leijtens. “The Pact turns 27 different ways of doing things into one.”
The Central and Eastern Mediterranean remained the busiest routes, with around 11,600 and 11,500 crossings respectively; the latter fell by 28%. The Western Mediterranean was the only major route to rise, up 46% to about 7,100, driven mainly by departures from Algeria towards the Balearic Islands as controls tightened elsewhere. The Western African route saw the steepest decline, down 71% to around 3,200, after preventive measures by Mauritania, Senegal and The Gambia in cooperation with Spain and the EU. Detected attempts to cross the Channel to the UK fell 40% to some 15,200.
Frontex, which has 3,800 officers deployed at the external borders, cautioned that the human cost remains high: the International Organization for Migration estimates nearly 1,300 people have died in the Mediterranean so far this year. For the Baltic Sea states, the standardised screening and stronger external-border management form part of a wider push to reinforce the security and resilience of the EU’s frontiers.
