Based on preliminary data from the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex), the number of detected illegal entries by foreign nationals into the European Union in the first seven months of 2026 has decreased by 37% compared to the same period last year, reaching about 61,000 cases at the EU’s external borders.

This figure does not include the influx of tens of thousands of Moroccans into the coastal city of Ceuta in Spain in late July. The Spanish government said it has returned all of these individuals.

Frontex figures show that the eastern and central Mediterranean routes were the busiest corridors for illegal entry during the first seven months of this year, and together accounted for roughly 60% of all cases identified in the data on illegal entry into the European Union.

The West Africa route recorded the largest decrease, and among the main migration routes, only the Western Mediterranean experienced an increase in illegal transit of foreign nationals (37%).