On 20 February the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (FRONTEX) has published its annual Risk Analysis report for 2019. In 2018 the number of illegal border-crossings to the European Union had decreased by 27% in comparison to 2017, and by 92% in comparison to 2015. That brings the number of crossings in 2018 down to 150.114, which is the lowest of the last past five years. This large decrease is due to the fact that irregular migrants have majorly stopped using the Central Mediterranean route to Italy. Departures from Libya in 2018 also dropped greatly in comparison to 2017, by 87%, and those from Algeria decreased by almost 50%, while departures from Tunisia stayed mostly unchanged. However, pressure on Southern European countries remain high, particularly Spain, in which the number of detections in 2018 has doubled since the previous year. Regarding the future, the report states that it is likely that systematic border checks will require further resource that European border management will continue to be tested, and that prevention activities by transit countries will continue to determine arrivals in the EU. In a briefing with journalists in Brussels, Frontex Executive Director Fabrice Leggeri has stated that stronger borders are needed and that more staff and technology are being appointed to that end. While “there is no burning crisis with the irregular crossing at external borders”, he claimed that “all EU citizens need to be checked when coming back home or leaving the EU”.