By mid-September 2015, more than 430,000 people reached the EU via the Mediterranean since the beginning of the year, a significant increase over previous years. More than 2,700 people died or went missing in the same period. Arrivals to Greece via Turkey across the Aegean Sea now outstrip crossings via Libya to Italy. From Greece, a debt-stricken country unable to cope with the influx, many travel overland through the Western Balkans to reach other EU countries. The land route contains its own perils, including summary expulsions and police abuse, as well as life-threatening smuggler tactics.

Two-thirds of those taking the dangerous journey come from countries beset by war, generalized violence, or with repressive governments, such as Syria, Eritrea, Somalia, Afghanistan, and Iraq. The EU continues to emphasize preventing departures and combating smuggling over a coordinated approach based on access to protection and respect for human rights.

The EU should sustain robust search and rescue operations in the Mediterranean and expand safe and legal channels into the EU, including by increasing resettlement quotas, wider access to humanitarian visas, and facilitating family reunification. EU countries should ensure more equitable responsibility sharing for asylum seekers, and implement common EU standards on reception conditions and asylum procedures.