🇮🇹 Giorgia Meloni · 🇩🇪 Friedrich Merz
Merz, Meloni and the EU: How political attacks on rescue charities are leaving migrants to drown
What happened
Search-and-rescue ships have been hindered by legal hurdles and funding cuts, leading to a decline in their operations. German NGO vessels, which have rescued thousands of people, have been accused by European authorities of acting as a "pull factor" for migration. Funding to national search-and-rescue organisations has stopped since Friedrich Merz became German chancellor. Italian authorities have also implemented regulations requiring NGOs to navigate directly to assigned ports after a rescue,
Why it matters
The decline of search-and-rescue operations has significant public health and humanitarian implications, as thousands of migrants continue to risk their lives in the Mediterranean. The situation raises concerns about the EU's response to the migrant crisis and the impact of European policies on human life.
Key facts
- Funding to national search-and-rescue organisations has stopped since Friedrich Merz became German chancellor.
- German NGO vessels have rescued 5,213 people since August 2022, a third of whom were children.
- SOS Humanity's mothership has sailed 24,745 km and 62 days in 2025 alone to navigate to assigned Italian ports.
- Italian authorities have implemented decree 1/2023 requiring NGOs to navigate directly to assigned ports after a rescue.
Topics
Publisher evidence used
Reporting attributed to euobserver.com. WorldLeadersNews links readers to the publisher and does not present a headline-only item as a full article analysis.
Related leaders
