Illegal arrivals to the European Union fell by a further 37% in 2026.

Omissions

• The 37% figure refers to the year-to-date period (first half / first seven months of 2026), not to the completed calendar year 2026, which was still ongoing at the time of the speech (16 September 2026).
• Frontex's own more recent data (first eight months of 2026) put the decline at 35%, with nearly 75,000 detections — a slightly lower reduction than the 37% cited.
• The reduction is not uniform across routes: the Western Mediterranean route actually increased (around +17% in H1 2026), so the headline figure masks divergent regional trends.

Sources

• PrimaryFrontex — Irregular border crossings into the EU down 37% in the first half of 2026The number of irregular border crossings into the European Union continued to fall in the first six months of 2026, with detections down by 37% compared with the same period last year. More than 49 000 crossings were recorded, according to preliminary data collected by Frontex.
• PrimaryFrontex — Preliminary data show irregular border crossings into EU down 37% in first seven months of 2026Based on preliminary data available to Frontex, irregular border crossings into the European Union fell by 37% in the first seven months of 2026 compared with the same period last year, with approximately 61 000 detections recorded at the EU's external borders.
• PrimaryFrontex — Irregular border crossings into the EU down 1/3 in first 8 months of 2026Frontex preliminary data show irregular border crossings into the EU fell by 35% in the first eight months of 2026, with nearly 75,000 detections. The Eastern and Central Mediterranean remained the busiest routes.