Irregular entries into the EU down 37%, but Spain bucks the trend

In the first seven months of 2026 Frontex recorded around 61,000 irregular entries at the European Union's external borders, 37% fewer than in the same period last year. The overall figure conceals an opposite movement on the route running through Morocco.

The declines cover nearly every direction. The eastern Mediterranean counts 20,232 crossings, down 28%. The central Mediterranean falls 55% to 16,454. The west African route towards the Canary Islands loses 60% and stands at 4,682. The western Balkans fall 26% with 4,910 crossings, the eastern land border 44% with 3,209.

The western Mediterranean route is the only one rising: 11,217 crossings, 37% more than in 2025, of which 8,648 by sea and 2,569 by land. Non-governmental organisations count at least 140 people dead on this route since the start of the year.

Ceuta sealed off for 15 August

The two Spanish enclaves on Moroccan territory were reinforced ahead of 15 August, after calls circulated on social media for another mass entry attempt like the one on 30 July. Police numbers in Ceuta rose from 1,100 to 1,600, backed by two thousand soldiers. On the Moroccan side a thousand men were deployed around Fnideq, the town facing the border.

Spain's interior minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska spoke of all necessary measures to prevent further assaults. The message put out by the authorities was that nobody will stay in Ceuta, nobody will be transferred to the mainland and nobody will be regularised. Some five thousand migrants without legal status are said to be in the city.

Europe's internal front

Since 12 June 2026 the new European pact on migration and asylum has been in force, redefining how responsibilities are shared among member states. Its application has already produced a dispute between Italy and Germany over transfers under the Dublin regulation, despite the bilateral agreement signed in December 2025. Italian interior minister Matteo Piantedosi and the government led by Friedrich Merz continue to read the number of cases to be taken back differently.

For Switzerland, which takes part in Schengen and Dublin without being a member of the Union, shifts in the routes matter mainly with a lag. Arrivals at the southern border follow sea crossings by months, and the contraction of the central Mediterranean explains much of the decline in irregular stays recorded at the Ticino border.