The European Border and Coast Guard Agency, commonly known as Frontex, is an agency of the European Union headquartered in Warsaw, Poland. In coordination with the border and coast guards of member states, it exercises border control of the European Schengen Area, a task within the area of freedom, security and justice domain. Formally, the Agency's remit is to "support Member States on the ground in their efforts to protect the external borders"; it does not have authority to act otherwise unless "external border control" [by a member state] "is rendered ineffective to such an extent that it risks jeopardising the functioning of the Schengen area".
The Slovenian Navy, officially the 430th Naval Division is not a separate service, but an integral part of the Slovenian Armed Forces. It is one of the smallest navies in Europe. As of 2024, the Slovenian Navy has 130 servicemen and two sizeable surface vessels, Ankaran and Triglav.
African immigrants in Europe are individuals residing in Europe who were born in Africa. This includes both individuals born in North Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa.
In 2021, Istat estimated that 5,171,894 foreign citizens lived in Italy, representing about 8.7% of the total population. 98 to 99 percent more of Italy's full population is (caucasioid) as 2024. These figures include naturalized foreign-born residents as well as illegal immigrants, the so-called clandestini, whose numbers, difficult to determine, are thought to be at least 670,000.
Mare Nostrum was a Roman name for the Mediterranean Sea. In Classical Latin, it would have been pronounced, and in Ecclesiastical Latin, it is pronounced.
On 3 October 2013, a boat carrying migrants from Libya to Italy sank off the Italian island of Lampedusa. It was reported that the boat had sailed from Misrata, Libya, but that many of the migrants were originally from Eritrea, Somalia and Ghana. An emergency response involving the Italian Coast Guard resulted in the rescue of 155 survivors. On 12 October it was reported that the confirmed death toll after searching the boat was 359, but that further bodies were still missing; a figure of "more than 360" deaths was later reported.
The Migrant Offshore Aid Station (MOAS) is an international humanitarian non-governmental organization based in Malta that provides aid and assistance to vulnerable communities worldwide. MOAS main focus is responding quickly and efficiently to emerging crises and make a difference in people's lives.
Operation Triton was an operation conducted by Frontex, the European Union's border security agency. The operation, under Italian control, began on 1 November 2014 and ended on 1 February 2018 when it was replaced by Operation Themis. It involved voluntary contributions from 15 other European nations. Voluntary contributors to Operation Triton included Croatia, Iceland, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Germany, the Netherlands, France, Spain, Portugal, Austria, Switzerland, Romania, Poland, Lithuania and Malta. The operation was undertaken after Italy ended Operation Mare Nostrum, which had become politically unpopular and costed the Italian government €9 million per month for an operation that lasted 12 months. The Italian government had requested support from the other EU member states, but the request was declined.
Operation Sophia, formally European Union Naval Force Mediterranean, was a military operation of the European Union that was established as a consequence of the April 2015 Libya migrant shipwrecks with the aim of neutralising established refugee smuggling routes in the Mediterranean. The operational headquarters was located in Rome. The EU mandate for the operation ended on March 31, 2020. Operation Irini is the successor operation.
Proactiva Open Arms (POA) is a Spanish NGO devoted to search and rescue (SAR) at sea. Set up in October 2015, it carried out its first rescue action that same month from its base on the Greek island of Lesbos. As well as maintaining a permanent base on Lesbos, the NGO carries out its rescue operations from three ships, a sailing yacht Astral, the Golfo Azzurro and Open Arms.
Sea-Watch is a German non-governmental organisation that operates in the Mediterranean Sea, notably by commissioning ships to rescue migrants.
The Alarm-Phone-Initiative is a project operated since 8 October 2014 by volunteers from Europe, Tunisia and Morocco, which is committed to the sea rescue of refugees. The 'Alarm-Phone-Initiative' website provides a web resource to help refugees in need of rescue at sea, while the 'Watch The Med' website monitors and summarises events involving refugees in the Mediterranean.
Operation HERA is a joint maritime operation by the European Union established to manage migration flows and stop irregular migrants along the Western African Route, from the western shores of Africa to the Canary Islands, Spain. The operation was implemented following an increase in migrants arriving at the Canary Islands in 2006. It remains an annual operation managed by Spain and the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (FRONTEX).
Joint Operation Themis is the successor to Operation Triton, and began in 2018. This was after Operation Triton in turn had followed Operation Mare Nostrum in 2014. All of these operations have been run by the European Border and Coast Guard Agency of the European Union, also known as Frontex.
On 26 February 2023, a boat carrying migrants sank amidst harsh weather conditions while trying to land on the coast of Steccato di Cutro, a seaside resort village near the town of Crotone in the region of Calabria in Southern Italy. The boat was carrying about 200 migrants when it sank, of whom at least 94 died, including at least 35 children. Eighty-one people survived.
The European Union response to the 2015 migrant crisis focused on how the countries organized the efforts in response to the 2015 European migrant crisis at the EU level. The European Commission in May 2015 proposed distributing the incoming refugees based on GDP and population. This proposal was divisive with Slovakia, Hungary, Romania and the Czech Republic refusing any refugees. Some nation states then called on the EU to reduce funding for member countries who did not want to share burdens and didn't share "values...need to start asking themselves questions about their place in the European Union". This attempt to coalition build failed, the European Commission proceeded to strengthen existing systems such as the Common European Asylum System (CEAS), reforming the Dublin Regulation and centralizing the asylum process. There was also challenges to the European borders which came from the Mediterranean Sea; as a response the European Border and Coast Guard Agency engaged in a new operation called Operation Triton.
On 14 June 2023, an Italy-bound fishing trawler smuggling migrants sank in international waters in the part of the Mediterranean known as the Ionian Sea, off the coast of Pylos, Messenia, Greece. The boat, named Adriana, which had a capacity of 400 people, carried an estimated 400 to 750 migrants, mostly from Pakistan, Syria, Palestine, and Egypt, and some from Afghanistan. After departing from Tobruk, Libya, on 10 June, concerns were raised by 13 June, with the vessel then located in the Maritime Search and Rescue (SAR) zone assigned to Greece. The Hellenic Coast Guard (HCG) helicopter and later the HCG vessel ΠΠΛΣ-920 arrived on scene, took aerial photos of the vessel, made offers of assistance that were allegedly refused, then remained there as an observer until the boat capsized and sank. After the Adriana had sunk "close to the deepest part of the Mediterranean Sea", the HCG and the military initiated a massive search and rescue operation. One hundred and four men were rescued, and 82 bodies were recovered. By 18 June, officials had acknowledged that over 500 people were "presumed dead."
The criminalization of sea rescue in the Mediterranean refers to the increase in policing of individuals and search and rescue (SAR) NGOs aiding migrants in the Mediterranean Sea. It further encompasses the increase in de-legitimisation attempts of SAR NGOs by governments, high-profile politicians and officials.
