According to EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, it must be Europe that decides who enters the EU and under what conditions, and not the people smugglers. One way to achieve this, she believes, is creating more legal pathways into Europe for migrants.
It was as Ursula von der Leyen opened the second international conference of the Global Alliance to Counter Migrant Smuggling in Brussels that she highlighted reforms in the EU’s migration policy, noting that the number of illegal border crossings has decreased by 26 percent this year, following a 37 percent reduction in 2024.
“We are fighting smugglers with every tool available,” she said, adding that authorities have confiscated more than twelve million euros in criminal assets and arrested around 13,500 migrant smugglers last year.
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According to von der Leyen, the activities of people smugglers can be fought “with political will and international cooperation”, stressing the alleged need to revise and strengthen EU legislation. The Union’s framework against human trafficking is more than 20 years old and “in need of immediate renewal,” she argued.
NEW – Ursula von der Leyen says that to prevent illegal border crossings, “we must open more safe and legal pathways to Europe,” and announces, as part of the new “talent partnerships,” an office opening in India to connect European employers with non-European jobseekers. pic.twitter.com/UMnxqKIKSc
— Disclose.tv (@disclosetv) December 10, 2025
More legal pathways
During the conference more than 50 international partners approved a joint declaration committing to stronger cooperation in three strategic pillars:
Preventive measures and disruption of the activities of criminal people smugglers, but also more legal alternatives to promote safe and regulated mobility channels, such as the EU’s new talent pool, and addressing the root causes of migration in origin and transit countries.
Criminal networks involved in migrant smuggling are estimated to earn up to seven billion euros annually. The Global Alliance was formed in 2023 and aims to deter dangerous journeys, dismantle smuggling networks, and promote legal alternatives for migration.
Sweden Democrats’ anger
The Sweden Democrats’ EU parliamentarian Charlie Weimers is not satisfied with the proposal for more legal pathways into Europe and promises to continue working to see Ursula von der Leyen replaced:
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