Catalina Espinosa
Research expert covering society, economy, and politics for Europe and the EU
Migration routes via Italy to Europe - Statistics & Facts
Italy is one of the main entry points in Europe for immigrants crossing the Mediterranean Sea. Together with Spain, Greece, Bulgaria, and Cyprus, Italy is among the most common member states reached by immigrants. However, in the last years, Italy played a controversial role in rescuing migrants at sea. As a consequence of anti-migration policies, a previous government declared that Italian ports were closed to ships carrying rescued migrants. This led to long standoffs of NGOs’ ships before receiving permission to disembark at a safe harbor, impounding charity ships used to rescue migrants, and long debates among other European Union members about funding or proceedings.
