According to preliminary data published by Frontex, the number of irregular border crossings into the European Union decreased by 27% between January and April 2025, compared to the same period in 2024. Nearly 47.000 crossings were detected during the first four months of 2025.

This workshop, jointly organised by the General Department of Immigration of the Ministry of Home Affairs of Luxembourg, the Detention Center of the Ministry of Home Affairs and EMN Luxembourg, will serve as a platform for Member States to exchange their first insights on progress made and challenges encountered while adapting to the new requirements put in place by the Screening Regulation.

EU Home Affairs Ministers approved a roadmap for the gradual implementation of the Entry/Exit System (EES) starting in October 2025, the revised Eurodac database set to become operational in June 2026 and ETIAS in late 2026. Ministers also reached broad agreement on facilitating go-and-see visits for Syrians in the EU to assess conditions in their home country without losing their protection status, as well as on measures to return Syrian nationals who pose a security threat or have been convicted of crimes.

Nine human rights associations, including 11.11.11 Belgium, published the European Pushback Report 2024. The report highlights that illegal pushbacks are a persistent practice at Europe's borders and calls for the establishment of independent monitoring mechanisms at borders to ensure compliance with human rights standards and to prevent further violations.

The European Commission has developed a new interactive tool to map labour migration pathways across the 27 EU Member States. It helps to visualise the 290 pathways that were active at the time of the research and updated to February 2024.

On 23 January 2023, the European Commissioner for Home Affairs participated in the European Parliament plenary session to discuss EU funding of physical border protection structures such as walls, fences or other barriers at the external border. According to him, the Commission will take border management needs into account “in a holistic manner”, whilst always ensuring proportionate measures and respect for fundamental rights.

With only 239 000 irregular crossings into the EU detected in 2024, Frontex reports the lowest number of irregular crossings since 2021, but warns about shifting dynamics and evolving challenges.

In a recent judgment, the Court of Justice of the European Union stated that a Member State cannot exclude from the benefit of family allowances a foreign worker whose children, born in a third country, cannot prove that they have entered its territory lawfully.

The Council of the European Union adopted a decision to lift checks on persons at the internal land borders with and between Bulgaria and Romania from 1 January 2025. Bulgaria and Romania will so become full Schengen members.

The situation at the Union’s borders with Russia and Belarus remains of concern with persistent threats related to the weaponisation of migrants. In a new Communication, the European Commission sets the framework for actions to guarantee the security of the Union and the territorial integrity of the Member States.

From 9 December 2024 until 8 June 2025, the Royal Netherlands Marechaussee will conduct temporary checks at its borders with Belgium and Germany to, among other things, stem irregular immigration into the country and combat migrant smuggling. Travellers intending to cross the border are advised to carry their ID documents with them.

This conference, organised jointly by EMN Estonia and IOM Estonia, focuses on labour shortages in the EU. It will offer insights into sustainable strategies to balance local labour demands while remaining competitive and attractive to migrant workers.

On 4 December 2024, the European Commission released a proposal for a Regulation enabling a progressive start of operations for Europe’s new digital border system - the Entry/Exit System (EES). According to the proposal, the Member States will start registering at least ten per cent of border crossings, and by the end of the given six-month period, they will need to reach the full registration of all people.

The consultation for the ex post evaluation for 2014-2020 ISF Police aims to strengthen the evidence base of the evaluation by gathering the views of all relevant stakeholders. You can contribute to this consultation by filling in an online questionnaire before 21 November 2024.

The public consultation for the Internal Security Fund - Borders and Visa (ISF BV) ex-post evaluation for 2014-2020 aims to strengthen the evidence base of the evaluation by gathering the views of all relevant stakeholders for the ISF BV programme. You can contribute to this consultation by filling in an online questionnaire before 21 November 2024.

France notified that controls would take place at its borders with Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, the Swiss Confederation, Italy, and Spain (land, air, and sea) from 1 November 2024 until 30 April 2024. Similar checks were already underway between 1 May 2024 and 31 October 2024 due to the Olympic and Paralympic Games organised in France during the summer 2024. 

EMN Italy organises a national conference laying focus on attracting international talent and skilled labor and on fostering co-development between Member States and third countries. Through an exchange of experiences and best practices, the legal framework and challenges in this matter will be discussed.

The Polish National Contact Point to the European Migration Network (EMN) will hold its national conference in 2024 on "Security of the EU's External Borders: Development of systems, technologies and threats prevention".