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Vol 67 No 5

Published 6th March 2026


Crossings down, pressure up – fearing the far-right, Brussels toughens laws

Small boat crossings are falling fast but the EU is coercing African states to accept deportees or face penalties

The numbers look like a win for the European Union’s border policy – on its own terms, at least. Irregular crossings into the EU fell 26% in 2025 to 178,000 — less than half the 2023 peak — with the West African route recording a dramatic 63% drop. Frontex, the European Union’s border control agency, attributed the shift in West Africa to ‘sharp drops in departures from Mauritania, Morocco and Senegal’.

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