MEDITERRANEAN: Rise in arrivals on Crete ― Greek Parliament votes to suspend asylum ― Increasingly hostile discourse about people on the move in Greece ― More deportations from Cyprus ― Italian authorities accused of ignoring boat in distress ― Italy’s top court backs NGO ship detention ― Italian PM and senior ministers facing more scrutiny over release of war crimes suspect ― New Council of Europe report on immigration detention facilities in Malta

MEDITERRANEAN: Rise in arrivals on Crete ― Greek Parliament votes to suspend asylum ― Increasingly hostile discourse about people on the move in Greece ― More deportations from Cyprus ― Italian authorities accused of ignoring boat in distress ― Italy’s top court backs NGO ship detention ― Italian PM and senior ministers facing more scrutiny over release of war crimes suspect ― New Council of Europe report on immigration detention facilities in Malta

There has been a rise in the number of people arriving in Greece irregularly in recent weeks. The Greek Parliament has approved a three-month asylum suspension on arrivals from North Africa. The Racist Violence Recording Network has raised concerns about the...
MEDITERRANEAN: Rise in arrivals on Crete ― Greek Parliament votes to suspend asylum ― Increasingly hostile discourse about people on the move in Greece ― More deportations from Cyprus ― Italian authorities accused of ignoring boat in distress ― Italy’s top court backs NGO ship detention ― Italian PM and senior ministers facing more scrutiny over release of war crimes suspect ― New Council of Europe report on immigration detention facilities in Malta

MEDITERRANEAN: More deaths and rescues ― German government to stop funding ‘civil fleet’ ― Spanish police investigating murders of people on the move near Balearic Islands ― NGO report reveals use of torture against people on the move ― Greece deploys warships to prevent boat departures from Libya ― ‘Biggest legal challenge yet’ to Italy-Albania Protocol

There have been more deaths and NGO-led rescues along the Mediterranean migration routes. The German government has announced that it is cancelling the funding that it has been providing to search and rescue NGOs since 2022. Spanish police have launched a murder...
MEDITERRANEAN: Rise in arrivals on Crete ― Greek Parliament votes to suspend asylum ― Increasingly hostile discourse about people on the move in Greece ― More deportations from Cyprus ― Italian authorities accused of ignoring boat in distress ― Italy’s top court backs NGO ship detention ― Italian PM and senior ministers facing more scrutiny over release of war crimes suspect ― New Council of Europe report on immigration detention facilities in Malta

MEDITERRANEAN: Greece under renewed pressure to end pushbacks ― Cyprus accused of failing to protect vulnerable groups from exploitation ― First deportation from controversial Italian centre in Albania ― IOM reports almost 25,000 deaths in Central Mediterranean since 2014

The Council of Europe (CoE) Commissioner for Human Rights has demanded that Greece adopts a zero-tolerance approach to pushbacks and strengthens border safeguards. A report by the CoE Group of Experts on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings (GRETA) has...
GERMANY: New government takes office; immediately orders police to turn away most undocumented people at border ― Far right party labelled ‘extremist’ by intelligence agency ― Proposal to let Syrian refugees visit home ― Rise in attacks against people seeking asylum in Berlin ― Court approves deportations to Greece

GERMANY: New government takes office; immediately orders police to turn away most undocumented people at border ― Far right party labelled ‘extremist’ by intelligence agency ― Proposal to let Syrian refugees visit home ― Rise in attacks against people seeking asylum in Berlin ― Court approves deportations to Greece

Friedrich Merz has become chancellor after securing a majority in the Bundestag after an unprecedented two rounds of voting. The new government has announced that it will refuse entry to most people seeking asylum with immediate effect. The domestic intelligence...
MEDITERRANEAN: Rise in arrivals on Crete ― Greek Parliament votes to suspend asylum ― Increasingly hostile discourse about people on the move in Greece ― More deportations from Cyprus ― Italian authorities accused of ignoring boat in distress ― Italy’s top court backs NGO ship detention ― Italian PM and senior ministers facing more scrutiny over release of war crimes suspect ― New Council of Europe report on immigration detention facilities in Malta

MEDITERRANEAN: Fall in recorded crossings in first quarter of 2025 ― Greece redesignates Türkiye as ‘safe third country’ ― Frontex investigating allegations of pushbacks by Greece ― Three of ‘Moria 6’ acquitted on appeal ― First relocation of people from Italy to repurposed centres in Albania ― Malta steps back from plan to reform human rights conventions

The significant decrease in the number of irregular border crossings into the EU via the Mediterranean routes that was observed in 2024 has continued into the first quarter of 2025. Greece has redesignated Türkiye as a “safe third country” for people seeking asylum...