According to a Frontex report for the first seven months of 2025, the number of illegal EU border crossings has decreased by 18 percent overall, and, according to preliminary data, authorities detected 95,200 illegal border crossings. 

Despite this good news, there was a 9 percent increase in illegal crossings on the Central Mediterranean route, mainly involving Italy, writes the Italian Il Giornale. 

The paper adds that the majority of illegal immigrants set off from Libyan ports, where smugglers are becoming increasingly ruthless and taking advantage of the political instability in the region.

The concentration of migrants travelling to Europe has increased on some routes, while others have receded into the background, the Italian newspaper reports. The country of origin of the migrants is not always easy to determine, but there has been an increase in the number of arrivals from Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Egypt. 

The largest decrease in illegal EU crossings was seen on land routes, with the Italian paper recognizing the efforts made by Hungary and Poland on this front. 

“Due to the decisive border protection measures of the Hungarian and Polish governments, the number of illegal entries on the eastern border has decreased by 45 percent and on the Balkan route by 47 percent,” Il Giornale wrote.

The Frontex report also noted a drop of 46 percent on the Western African route. 

Some 3,400 officers from Frontex continue to work with EU countries to combat illegal migration.