EU Migration Policy: Fortress Europe Already Exists

The European Union's external border, stretching over 50,000 kilometers, is a complex and vast frontier, with approximately 80 percent of it consisting of coastline dotted with numerous bays, islands, and river mouths. This extensive border presents significant challenges for management and control.

In the first half of this year alone, the European border and coast guard agency, Frontex, recorded 49,000 instances of illegal border crossings into the EU. This figure highlights the ongoing pressures at the Union's external frontiers.

With a population of 450 million people, the EU is a densely populated continent. Recent discussions about a potential refugee crisis, particularly following the arrival of many migrants in Ceuta, have led to comparisons with the unprecedented situation in 2015. During that year, the EU's external borders were crossed by 1.8 million individuals, a scale that dwarfs current figures and suggests that the notion of a "Fortress Europe" is perhaps more a reality than a future aspiration.