In the fourth quarter of 2014 indicators of irregular migration and asylum exchanged under the Frontex Risk Analysis Network (FRAN) changed only slightly compared the third quarter of 2014. Winter months tend to be marked by substantially lower migration pressure at the external borders, but in Q4 2014 detections of illegal border-crossings and illegal stay dropped less significantly and did not fall to the levels of previous winter seasons. In effect, these two indicators proved the highest out of all fourth quarters since FRAN data collection began in 2007. Compared to the same period in 2013, detections at the external borders increased by more than 160%