MEDITERRANEAN: Major drop in irregular crossings so far in 2026 ― More deaths and numerous rescues ― NGO denounces ‘unlawful’ treatment of asylum applicants in Greece ― Greek court grants protection in ‘wrongful nationality assessment’ case ― Council o…
- There has been a major decrease in the number of recorded irregular border crossings on the Central Mediterranean migration route in the first nine months of 2026.
- There have been more deaths and numerous rescues of people on the move in the Mediterranean in recent weeks.
- An NGO has denounced authorities in Greece for detaining and criminally prosecuting people seeking protection.
- A court in Greece has granted interim protection to an Eritrean national whose request for asylum was rejected because authorities rejected his nationality claim.
- The Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights has given a cautious welcome to the introduction of a draft law for the establishment of a national human rights institute in Malta.
- The Italian and Spanish governments have agreed to end the border controls that they imposed after the mass irregular crossing from Morocco into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta in July.
There has been a major decrease in the number of recorded irregular border crossings on the Central Mediterranean migration route in the first nine months of 2026. According to data published by the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex) on 19 October, there were 22,511 recorded crossings on the route during the period January-September 2026. This represented a 56% decrease on the previous year. There was also a 15% decrease on the Eastern Mediterranean route (31,803 recorded crossings so far in 2026). However, the number of recorded crossings on the Western Mediterranean route increased by 26% to 18,260. According to Frontex, this increase was “concentrated on the land border, where detections have more than doubled”. The Eastern Mediterranean and Central Mediterranean routes remained the busiest, together accounting for almost 60% of all recorded irregular crossings of the EU’s external borders (of which there were just over 91,000 January-September 2026).
There have been more deaths and numerous rescues of people on the move in the Mediterranean in recent weeks. On 19 October, 12 people, including a baby, died in two separate incidents off the Greek islands of Lesvos and Samos. The deaths in the Lesvos incident occurred after the speedboat in which they were travelling collided with a Greek coastguard vessel. On 3-4 October, the Sea-Eye 5 NGO rescue ship rescued at least 50 people in the Libyan and Maltese search and rescue (SAR) zones where the Ocean Viking also rescued 101 people on 6-7 October. On 6 October, almost 200 people were rescued near the Greek island of Crete; on 7 October, 104 people were rescued by the Spanish Civil Guard and the Spanish Maritime Rescue and Safety Society (SASEMAR) around the Balearic Islands; on 9 October, more than 200 people were rescued by the Hellenic Coast Guard near Crete and the neighbouring island of Gavdos; on 11-12 October, 227 people were rescued by the Sea-Watch 5 and Aurora 2 NGO rescue ships in the Central Mediterranean; on 12 October, 33 people were rescued by Frontex near Gavdos (one missing); on 12 October, more than 240 people were rescued by the Hellenic Coast Guard and Frontex near Crete; on 12-13 October, 165 people were rescued by various Spanish authorities off the Spanish coast and, on 20 October, almost 120 people were rescued by the Hellenic Coast Guard and Frontex near Crete and Gavdos.
An NGO has denounced authorities in Greece for detaining and criminally prosecuting people seeking protection. On 7 October, ECRE member organisation Refugee Support Aegean (RSA) published a statement in which it claimed that people were being “indiscriminately prosecuted for “illegal stay” offences in flagrant breach of basic legal standards” and that instead of receiving protection from the state, they ended up “detained in prisons and police stations”. RSA has called for inter alia an immediate end to this practice, the reinstatement of access to the asylum procedure in Greece and respect for basic legal principles. It has also reminded the Greek Reception and Identification Service, the Hellenic Police and prosecution services of their duties in treating people who express their intent to lodge asylum applications in Greece. “Asylum seekers have the right to remain on the territory from the moment they express their claim, orally or in writing, until the asylum procedure is completed,” it wrote, adding: “They are not in “illegal stay” and are not committing a criminal offence”.
A court in Greece has granted interim protection to an Eritrean national whose request for asylum was rejected because authorities rejected his nationality claim. On 28 September, the Administrative Court of First Instance of Thessaloniki ruled that the authorities’ decision to assign the man Ethiopian nationality and to order his removal from Greece and return to Ethiopia “could cause him harm that would be difficult to remedy should the pending application for annulment be successful, consisting in his exposure to a risk to his life and safety”. In a statement published on 9 October, the NGO Equal Legal Aid (ELA) described the decision as “particularly significant” as it was “the first one of its kind issued by the Administrative Court of Thessaloniki” and came after “eight positive interim decisions issued by the Administrative Court of First Instance of Athens from 2025 and 2024 concerning similar cases of wrongful nationality assessment supported by ELA”. “The systematic misidentification of Eritrean asylum seekers as Ethiopian national raises serious concerns regarding the legality and integrity of the nationality determination process and, consequently, the asylum procedure in Greece, with significant implications for fundamental rights of asylum seekers,” it wrote.
The Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights has welcomed the introduction of a draft law for the establishment of a national human rights institute in Malta. In a letter to Maltese Minister for Equality and Civil Rights Rosianne Cutajar, Michael O’Flaherty highlighted the “proposed constitutional basis” of the ‘National Commission for Human Rights and Equality’, the recognition of its “independence and impartiality” and the provisions concerning “adequate resources, protection against arbitrary budget reductions, and autonomy in staff selection”. O’Flaherty also proposed a number of amendments relating to inter alia an “independent, transparent and participatory” selection process for the Commissioner and members of the Commission, and the expansion of the definition of rights included in the draft law in order to avoid a narrowing of its scope. Responding to O’Flaherty on 2 October, Cutajar addressed a number of the issues that he had raised and reassured him that the Maltese government was “committed to ensuring that the Commission is established on strong legal basis and is able to perform its functions effectively and independently”.
The Italian and Spanish governments have agreed to end the border controls that they imposed after the mass irregular crossing from Morocco into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta in July. The decision to lift the controls, which were first imposed at the start of August, was made on 22 October following a call between Italian Minister of the Interior Matteo Piantedosi and his Spanish counterpart, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, which itself followed a meeting between the two countries’ prime ministers during the recent European Council summit in Brussels. According to statements that were issued separately by each country, the decision was reached after a “careful analysis of the situation” which “will be accompanied by an enhancement of information-sharing to ensure the full security of the Schengen area”.
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