Europe is facing an increasingly difficult political and economic paradox - a number of European economies are dependent on foreign workers. Public discontent with migration is growing, and governments are tightening asylum and return rules for illegal residents.
According to Irish journalist Breda O'Brien of The Irish Times, Europe cannot morally build its economic model on the availability of cheap migrant labor while simultaneously demonizing people seeking a better life. At the same time, she stresses that Europe cannot solve the problems of all countries with economic problems that lead to their destabilization and that completely open borders would create serious problems for both European societies and the countries from which migrants depart.
The EU is already implementing a stricter migration regime
The debate comes at a time when the new EU Pact on Migration and Asylum is already in force. Its main rules have been in force since 12 June 2026 and provide for stronger external border controls, mandatory prior screening of irregular arrivals and accelerated procedures for applicants who are unlikely to receive international protection.
The reform marks a shift in European policy – from a focus primarily on the reception and distribution of asylum seekers to a stronger focus on controls, the rapid processing of applications and the return of people who have no right to stay.
Migration pressure is actually decreasing
Despite the political tensions, the latest data show a decline in irregular migration. Frontex reports around 178,000 irregular crossings of the EU's external borders in 2025, 26% less than the previous year and the lowest level since 2021.
Asylum applications are also decreasing. In 2025, first applications for international protection in the EU fell by 27% compared to 2024. Spain received the most initial applications – around 141,000, followed by Italy, France and Germany.
A separate study cited by Reuters shows that the total number of refugees and asylum seekers in the EU and Britain has stabilized in 2025 at around 9.59 million people after more than a decade of growth.
However, the European economy needs foreign workers
This is the other side of the coin. According to the European Commission, around 12.9 million citizens of non-EU countries participate in the European workforce, and on January 1, 2025, around 30.6 million citizens of countries outside the bloc lived in the European Union.
A number of sectors – construction, agriculture, logistics, hospitality, elderly care and healthcare, the shortage of workers makes legal labour migration an economic necessity.
This is where the contradiction mentioned by O’Brien arises: European countries want tighter borders, but at the same time their companies need people who often come from the same regions that have become the center of the political migration debate.
Spain reignites the controversy
The topic has become even more sensitive after the migration crisis surrounding the Spanish enclave of Ceuta and Madrid's plans to legalize the status of nearly 500,000 undocumented migrants.
The European Commissioner for Home Affairs and Migration, Magnus Brunner, criticized the idea, saying it sends the wrong signal to the rest of Europe. According to reports, 22 EU countries have expressed concern that such a measure could stimulate new migration flows.
At the same time, the dispute shows how different national approaches are. Some countries are pushing for stricter border controls and accelerated deportations, while others are emphasizing the economic need to integrate people who already live and work in Europe.
Increasingly strict policy on returning migrants
The European Union is also working on the possibility of sending people whose asylum applications have been finally rejected to special return centers outside the EU.
Germany, Austria, Denmark, the Netherlands and Greece are in talks with African countries about such centers, which could potentially be operational in 2027. Human rights organizations warn of the risk of human rights violations, while the European Commission argues that the system should operate under international control.