Archive
Italy’s “systematic obstruction” of civilian search and rescue missions must end
A statement signed by 32 organisations from across Europe calls for an immediate halt to the systematic obstruction of non-governmental search and rescue (SAR) efforts by the Italian state. In the past month alone, NGO vessels have been detained three times due to legal restrictions based on allegations under the “Piantedosi decree" (named after the current interior minister). One vessel, Nadir, operated by the organisation RESQSHIP, was detained twice in a row. 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. Read More
Urgent warning: more deaths at sea, NGO ships blocked
A joint statement signed by 56 organisations, including Statewatch, calls for European states to stop obstructing and hindering civil search and rescue missions in the Mediterranean Sea. Read More
EU: Tracking the Pact: Mediterranean Subsaharan Migration Trade Union Network recommendations on the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum
In mid-September, prior to the European Commission's publication of the new 'Pact on Migration and Asylum', the Mediterranean Subsaharan Migration Trade Union Network issued a set of recommendations. The group called for a number of positive measures, including an increase in safe and legal channels for migrants to seek work in the EU, the simpification of entry conditions, more possibilities for individuals to regularize their status within the EU, an end to the detention of migrants, a halt to externalization policies and transparency over readmission agreements. Read More
Viewpoint: The legal and illegal businesses of Fortress Europe
Border controls are big business - for the companies supplying the fences, technology and equipment used to put them in place, and for the smugglers who seek to circumvent them, argues Ana González-Paramo. Read More
Border surveillance and deaths at sea: Frontex’s invisible flights come under scrutiny
Interest in Frontex’s “Multipurpose Aerial Surveillance” activities picked up in April this year, when journalist Sergio Scandura documented the presence of Frontex-operated aircraft above the Mediterranean over the Easter weekend. Four migrant boats with approximately 280 people on board were left in distress situations for days, despite repeated calls for intervention, leading directly to “pull-backs” to Libya and deaths at sea. Read More
Emerging Technologies and International Security in the Mediterranean Region
"The third TRANSAD workshop will focus on the topic Emerging Technologies and International Security in the Mediterranean Region. Co-organised by PRIO, the Institut Barcelona d'Estudis Internacionals (IBEI), the Center for the Study of the Drone at Bard College, and the Nordic Centre of Excellence for Security Technologies and Societal Values (NordSTEVA), the workshop will take place in Barcelona on 21 and 22 November 2019." Read More
EU migration agenda highlights its shortcomings
This can mean the application of more broad policy leverage. In this respect, the revised EU Visa Code, in force from February 2020, will be one important additional tool, providing the EU the possibility to adopt restrictive visa measures for third countries which do not cooperate sufficiently on readmission. Read More
EU migration agenda highlights its shortcomings
This can mean the application of more broad policy leverage. In this respect, the revised EU Visa Code, in force from February 2020, will be one important additional tool, providing the EU the possibility to adopt restrictive visa measures for third countries which do not cooperate sufficiently on readmission. Read More
Migrant deaths: 19,000 in Mediterranean in past 6 years
"The Mediterranean crossing continues to be the deadliest migrant route worldwide: 19,000 migrants have been reported dead or missing since October 3, 2013. So far this year, the crossing has claimed over 1,000 victims." Read More
Mediterranean Fatalities in 2019 Rise to 1,071 with Latest Shipwreck off Lampedusa
"Authorities found 22 migrants who survived the disaster, while 13 bodies – all women – were recovered by the Italian Coast Guard and Guardia di Finanza. As of Tuesday morning, 17 migrants remained missing, including more women and at least two children. Among the missing are nationals of the Ivory Coast, Cameroon and Guinea Conakry and four Tunisian nationals including three men and one 17-year-old boy.(...)" Read More