EU border illegal crossings plunge after new migration controls

The European Union’s border agency Frontex reported a 37% drop in illegal crossings into the bloc, with about 49,000 attempts recorded in the first half of 2026 compared with the same period a year earlier. The decline is attributed to the EU’s new migration and asylum rules, the mandatory solidarity mechanism that supports front‑line states, and the implementation of the Entry/Exit System, which denied entry to roughly 45,000 individuals using false documents.

At the Polish‑Belarusian frontier, the Polish Border Guard noted a dramatic fall in attempts: only around 150 illegal crossing attempts were recorded in the first quarter of 2026, down from roughly 3,900 in the same quarter of 2025. Officials linked the reduction to the 2022 dam, a full‑length perimeter electronic system, and a buffer zone introduced on 13 June 2024. Prime Minister Donald Tusk highlighted the results, stating that no one succeeded in breaching the border during the period.

Both reports underscore how tightened border infrastructure and recent EU migration reforms are curbing unauthorized migration flows across European frontiers.