Illegal border crossings on EU's eastern border down nearly half this year

The European Union's border control agency, Frontex, has announced that the number of illegal border crossing attempts on the EU's eastern border has dropped by nearly half this year.

According to the agency, the decline for the January-to-August period, compared with the same eight months last year, reached 47%.

Frontex published the figures as part of its regular overview of the situation at the EU's external borders. The agency is responsible for coordinating the monitoring of member states' external borders and combating illegal migration.

The EU's eastern border has in recent years been one of the main routes for illegal migration, with several member states, including the Baltic states and Poland, having reported attempts to organize the movement of migrants across the border.