“Cutting off this path” – Egypt is now becoming the focus of migration management

EU Migration Commissioner Magnus Brunner wants to expand cooperation with Egypt to further curb illegal migration to Europe. According to WELT information, he traveled to Cairo for talks on Thursday.

"Illegal migration to the EU is declining sharply. We are continuing this trend by starting in the countries of origin and transit," Brunner told WELT. "The most active route currently leads from the Gulf via Egypt to Libya and from there to the EU. Egypt is therefore a key partner if we want to cut off this route."

A total of 19,411 illegal entries were registered via the central Mediterranean route between January and August 2026, as Frontex announced in September. The most frequently identified nationalities were Bangladeshis, Somalis and Algerians. “Many people travel to Libya via Egyptian airports and from there go to Greece or Italy,” say people close to Brunner.

This is exactly where a new transit visa that Egypt introduced this year comes into play. In the future, travelers from Bangladesh would have to apply for it at the Egyptian embassy in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, before traveling; An exhibition upon arrival at the airport is no longer planned. The regulation primarily affects travelers who used Egypt as a stopover to a third country. “The EU is following the implementation and is in favor of extending it to other nationalities.”

According to Frontex, a total of almost 75,000 illegal entries into the EU were registered between January and August, 35 percent fewer than in the same period last year. The decline on almost all important migration routes is due to “continuous cooperation with partner countries and preventive measures in the most important countries of origin”. The data did not include the mass crossings from Morocco to Ceuta in July, although according to Frontex many of them had already returned.

Ricarda Breyton has been writing about migration policy and legal policy issues for many years.