The number of irregular crossings into Europe has decreased by 30% in the first quarter of the year, compared to the same period last year. This reduction is attributed to EU policies that prioritize deterrence, which have been criticized for ignoring potential human rights violations.

Frontex, the EU’s border agency, reported this decline across all major migration routes into Europe, resulting in nearly 33,600 fewer arrivals in the first three months of the year. The most significant decrease, at 64%, was observed in routes traversing Albania, Serbia, Montenegro, and North Macedonia, while crossings into the UK decreased by 4%.

While migration patterns are influenced by various factors such as weather and conflict, the data suggests a continuation of the downward trend seen in 2024, when irregular border crossings into Europe decreased by 38%.

Judith Sunderland from Human Rights Watch argues that the EU’s emphasis on deterrence and securing its borders drives individuals to take riskier routes into Europe, resulting in a human cost of lives lost at sea, violence at border areas, and people stranded in precarious conditions.

These falling arrival numbers coincide with the EU’s agreements with countries like Libya and Tunisia, where documented human rights abuses such as beatings, sexual violence, and imprisonment exist. According to Sunderland, the decline in arrivals caused by EU deterrence measures comes at the expense of human rights abuses that the EU is complicit in.

Allison West from the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights points out that the reduction in official numbers does not mean fewer people are attempting migration. Rather, it signifies that these individuals are being held in appalling conditions in countries like Libya and Tunisia, amounting to crimes against humanity with EU cooperation and approval.

The EU has been working with Libya to curb migrant arrivals, despite evidence of arbitrary detention, torture, sexual violence, and enslavement. These abuses are seen as the foreseeable consequences of a strategy prioritizing containment over protection.

While there has been a decrease in irregular border crossings, concerns about migrant deaths remain high. The International Organization for Migration reports that at least 555 people lost their lives while trying to cross the Mediterranean or Atlantic in the first three months of the year, adding to the over 3,500 lives lost in these routes last year.

Unice

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/apr/16/irregular-migrant-crossings-into-europe-fall-30-in-first-quarter-of-2025