Immigration security

Africa: Central Mediterranean Route - Protecting Migrants and Managing Irregular Flows

We managed to get more control over the Central Mediterranean route with arrivals in August down by 81% compared to the same month last year. In doing so, we have drastically reduced the loss of life in the Mediterranean.

- European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, State of the Union Address, 13 September 2017

Saving lives, protecting migrants, fight traffickers and replacing irregular migration with organised, legal and safe pathways are the core objectives of the EU's migration policy along the Central Mediterranean route. Over the past few years, in the face of an ever-increasing death toll at sea, the Juncker Commission, together with the High Representative and EU Member States, has made enormous efforts to better manage the flows and put an end to the cruel smuggling and trafficking business. Cooperation with partner countries is essential to this end and has been taken to an unprecedented level through the Partnership Framework on Migration. Since summer 2017, both deaths at sea and irregular arrivals in Italy have decreased. The way forward must build on these steps by further enhancing cooperation with our partners in Africa, cutting off the smugglers, fighting the root causes of irregular migration, helping stranded migrants return home and ensuring the most vulnerable can come to Europe safely.