MEDITERRANEAN: Rise in crossings on two routes ― More deaths of people on the move ― NGO aircraft detained in Italy ― Greek government proposes new migration legislation ― Greece’s asylum suspension faces legal challenge

• There has been an increase in the number of irregular crossings on both the Central- and Western Mediterranean migration routes.
• The International Organization for Migration has recorded at least 1,011 deaths in the Mediterranean so far in 2025.
• The Italian government has grounded a civilian rescue aircraft in the first use of a new law.
• The Greek government has submitted a legislative proposal aimed at tightening migration rules in line with the new EU Return Regulation and announced that people who are awaiting deportation will be required to wear electronic ankle tags.
• The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has blocked Greece from deporting a group of people who were detained following the recent asylum suspension.

There has been an increase in the number of irregular crossings on both the Central- and Western Mediterranean migration routes. According to the latest data published by the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex), there were almost  36,700 crossings on the Central Mediterranean route in the first seven months of 2025 (9% increase compared the same period in 2024) and there were almost 8,500 crossings on the Western Mediterranean route (11% increase). These increases were in sharp contrast to the overall number of crossings into Europe (18% decrease) and the number of crossings on the Eastern Mediterranean route (16% decrease). Despite the latter, Frontex reported the emergence of a “new migratory corridor” between eastern Libya and Crete, with more than 10,000 arrivals reported in 2025.

The Mediterranean remains the world’s deadliest route for people seeking asylum. According to data published by the International Organization for Migration’s (IOM) Missing Migrants Project, at least 1,011 people have died on the various migration routes so far in 2025. Some of the latest victims lost their lives as recently as 19 August when a small boat capsized approximately five kilometres off the island of Mallorca. One person died and three others are still missing. A few days earlier, at least 26 people, including a number of women and children, died when two boats sank approximately 23 kilometres off the island of Lampedusa. The United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) has warned that more people may still be missing. Commenting on the numbers of deaths in the Mediterranean and the impact that governments’ efforts to limit the activities of search and rescue (SAR) NGOs has on them, IOM spokesperson Flavio Di Giacomo said: “When there are fewer rescue ships at sea, the risk of shipwrecks increases”. His comment echoes a statement that was published by a large group of SAR NGOs in July which included the argument that “deliberately keeping non-governmental search and rescue organisations away from the Central Mediterranean causes countless more deaths at sea on one of the deadliest flight routes worldwide.”

The Italian government has grounded a civilian rescue aircraft in the first use of a new law. The Seabird 1 aircraft, which is operated by the Sea-Watch NGO, was detained on 7 August in relation to an operation that it carried out in June. Authorities have claimed that the crew failed to notify them “immediately and as a matter of priority” as required by the 2024 ‘Flows Decree-Law’. Sea-Watch and other SAR NGOs have argued that the law is designed to obstruct both rescue missions and the documentation of human rights violations and crimes against humanity in the Mediterranean. They have also called on the Italian authorities to revoke both the detention of Seabird 1 and the Flows Decree-Law, and have urged them to comply with international human rights and maritime law. UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders Mary Lawlor said that the decision to detain Seabird 1 “strongly appears to be arbitrary” and that it should be “immediately revoked”.

The Greek Ministry of Migration and Asylum has submitted a legislative proposal aimed at tightening migration rules in line with the new EU Return Regulation. The proposal, which was submitted to parliament on 4 August, sets out procedures for returning third-country nationals residing irregularly in Greece and introduces stricter measures such as shorter voluntary departure deadlines, broader grounds for detention, harsher penalties for illegal stay or re-entry, longer entry bans, restrictions on asylum applications and revocation of residence permits for individuals who have lived in Greece irregularly for seven years. According to informal sources, the Greek parliament is expected to debate the bill in the coming days and vote on it in early September.

The Greek government has also announced that people who are awaiting deportation will be required to wear electronic ankle tags. According to Minister for Migration and Asylum Thanos Plevris, the new measure is intended to speed up the deportation process, leaving no further options for people whose asylum applications have been definitively rejected. He told ERT Radio that draft legislation would be submitted to parliament after the summer recess. Plevris also announced that the Greek government was considering offering a financial incentive of up to €2,000 for people who voluntarily comply with deportation orders.

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has blocked Greece from deporting a group of people who were detained following the recent asylum suspension. On 14 August, the ECtHR ordered Greece not to deport eight Sudanese men who had been detained in Athens after arriving on Crete from Libya where they had been denied the chance to seek asylum. According to ECRE member organisation Refugee Support Aegean, which is representing four of the men, the ECtHR’s interim measures order “addresses a significant gap in the refugees’ judicial protection” as it “secures their right to remain in the country until the examination of their suspension applications at the administrative courts is completed” and “signals a  recognition of the serious risks they face upon removal”. Commenting on NGO actions and the ECtHR’s recent decision, Minister for Migration and Asylum Thanos Plevris said: “The position of NGOs is respected, but completely indifferent to the Ministry of Immigration. Immigration policy is shaped by the government, not by NGOs or by extra-institutional bodies”.

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