However, experts say illegal migrants are adapting to stricter EU measures at borders and becoming more reliant on smugglers and newer, often more dangerous routes.
While overall numbers are down, arrivals have not decreased across every route to Europe, and new corridors have emerged as illegal migrants and smugglers adapt. “As one route declines, others usually surge or re-emerge,” said Jennifer Vallentine, an expert at the Mixed Migration Centre, a research organisation.
Illegal crossings dropped to 240,000 in 2024 after surpassing 300,000 in 2022 and 2023 for the first time since 2016.
Amid the downward trend, a new Mediterranean Sea corridor between Libya and Greece has emerged, with more than 7,000 people arriving in Crete this year.
The Greek Government has proposed a new law to criminalise illegal entry and impose a temporary ban on asylum applications.