EU Updates

13/06/2025 – 03/07/2025

• On June 25^th Germany would end its financial support for civilian rescue operations in the Mediterranean and elsewhere. According to the RFI, “the federal government no longer plans to allocate subsidies to NGOs involved in these rescue missions,” according to sources in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 
• During the month of June, Stefano Failla, director of intelligence at Frontex, asked the European Union for greater access to intelligence data and information, in order to further strengthen the agency’s powers. It seems that the European Commission is in favour of this request. 
• On June 17^th, the European Council and Parliament reached an agreement to strengthen the mechanism that allows the European Union to suspend visa-free travel for citizens of third countries. Now, stricter criteria, such as human rights violations, the sale of passports or an increase in so-called irregular arrivals can trigger a suspension, which could last up to three years.  
• Bosnia will facilitate the deployment of Frontex agents at its borders after the signing of an agreement with the European Union. According to the European Commission, similar deployments of the agency would have reduced “irregular” entries into EU territories, from 145,600 to 21,250 between 2022 and 2024, in Moldova, Serbia, Montenegro and Albania. 
• On June 12^th, the European Court of Human Rights exonerated Italy of any responsibility for helping migrants intercepted in the central Mediterranean return to Libya. Once again, the European Union is turning a blind eye to widely documented human rights violations. 
• On June 11^th, the European Commission published report on the implementation of the Pact on Migration and Asylum. According to the report, “significant progress” has been made since June 2024, and the new “migration management system” is expected to be fully operational by June 2026. 
• On June 3^rd, the CJEU ruled that bringing minors into the EU does not constitute a crime even if they enter without “permission”. Actions to protect minors should not be considered as “unauthorised entry aid” within the meaning of EU legislation against migrant smuggling. 
• At the beginning of June, EuroMed Rights responded to the call for inputs on the externalization of migration and its impact on the human rights of migrants, issued by the UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants. You can read our submission here.