Friday

8th Dec 2023

Migrant-rescue ships win greater EU freedoms

Listen to article

Ports in Italy cannot impound NGO migrant-rescue ships on grounds they take on board too many people to be safe, the EU court has ruled.

The law of the sea contains "a fundamental duty to render assistance to persons in danger or distress at sea", the Court of Justice in Luxembourg said on Monday (1 August).

Read and decide

Join EUobserver today

Become an expert on Europe

Get instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.

... or subscribe as a group

And so the number of rescued people on board "must not be taken into account when verifying whether the rules on safety at sea have been complied with," it added.

Port authorities do have the right to carry out safety inspections on rescue vessels, but only if local courts first say "there are serious indications of a danger to health, safety, on-board working conditions or the environment".

And local courts, when taking such a decision, can "take account" of the fact "ships classified and certified as cargo ships by the flag state are, in practice, being systematically used for activities relating to the search for and rescue of persons".

If inspections find "deficiencies" port authorities can also adopt "corrective measures", such as detention of ships, so long as those measures are "suitable, necessary, and proportionate", the EU court added.

The case arose after German charity Sea Watch sued the port authorities of Palermo and Empedocle in Italy at a regional court in Sicily last year.

Two of the charity's vessels — Sea Watch 3 and Sea Watch 4 — are registered as cargo ships under German flags.

And Italian harbour masters had insisted on keeping them at port on grounds they had taken more people on board than their cargo certificates allowed.

Many NGO ships operate in the Central Mediterranean near Libya.

Some 25,164 people used this route to try to reach Europe in the first six months of this year — a 23 percent increase on the same period last year, according to Frontex, the EU's border control agency.

More than 30,000 other people so far this year also underwent perilous sea crossings in the West African, Western Mediterranean, and Eastern Mediterranean regions.

Most of those coming are from Algeria, Bangladesh, Congo, Egypt, Nigeria, Morocco, Syria, and Tunisia.

At least 978 migrants died trying to reach Spain alone this year — amounting to five people a day — according to Spanish NGO Caminando Fronteras.

Another 600 people died in the first three months of this year trying to reach Europe from Tunisia and Libya, the International Organization for Migration said.

"UNHCR [a UN humanitarian agency] has continuously been warning of the horrific experiences and dangers faced by refugees and migrants who resort to these journeys," UNHCR spokeswoman Shabia Mantoo said in June.

"Each year, thousands perish or go missing at sea without a trace," she said.

Lampedusa: The invisible migrant crisis at Europe's gate

Last weekend, Italy's Lampedusa island was again making headlines for being overrun with migrants. But, paradoxically, the crisis was more visible from TV news bulletins and social media than from the ground.

Opinion

Could blockchain help EU process asylum claims?

Asylum proceedings are one of the biggest issues with the EU's migration policy, and digital identification through blockchain to register and track refugees would be an instrumental step towards the level of necessary reform.

Latest News

  1. How Moldova is trying to control tuberculosis
  2. Many problems to solve in Dubai — honesty about them is good
  3. Sudanese fleeing violence find no haven in Egypt or EU
  4. How should EU reform the humanitarian aid system?
  5. EU suggests visa-bans on Israeli settlers, following US example
  6. EU ministers prepare for all-night fiscal debate
  7. Spain's Nadia Calviño backed to be EIB's first female chief
  8. Is there hope for the EU and eurozone?

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Nordic Council of MinistersArtist Jessie Kleemann at Nordic pavilion during UN climate summit COP28
  2. Nordic Council of MinistersCOP28: Gathering Nordic and global experts to put food and health on the agenda
  3. Friedrich Naumann FoundationPoems of Liberty – Call for Submission “Human Rights in Inhume War”: 250€ honorary fee for selected poems
  4. World BankWorld Bank report: How to create a future where the rewards of technology benefit all levels of society?
  5. Georgia Ministry of Foreign AffairsThis autumn Europalia arts festival is all about GEORGIA!
  6. UNOPSFostering health system resilience in fragile and conflict-affected countries

Join EUobserver

Support quality EU news

Join us