MEDITERRANEAN: EU court rules in favour of parents on the move ― Italian Senate approves controversial security law ― Italy terminates contract with spyware firm following surveillance scandal ― Greek coastguard personnel charged over 2023 Pylos…

• The Court of Justice of the EU has ruled that helping minors under one’s care to enter the EU is not a crime.
• The Italian Senate has passed the government’s controversial security law.
• Italy has ended its contracts with the Israeli cyber company Paragon following the scandal over the alleged misuse of spyware technology.
• A Greek naval court has charged 17 members of the Hellenic Coast Guard in connection with the deadly Pylos shipwreck.
• Two ECRE member organisations have submitted a new annulment application against the redesignation of Türkiye as a safe third country for refugees.
• A group of Greek NGOs has called on the Ministry of Asylum and Migration to stop evicting people on the move from camps.
• A group of Maltese NGOs has launched the ‘Malta Migration Archive’ to document the impact of Malta’s migration policies.

The Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) has ruled that bringing minors under one’s care into the EU is not a crime, even if it involves crossing borders without authorisation. On 3 June, the CJEU decided that actions aimed at protecting minors and preserving family unity should not be considered “facilitation of unauthorised entry” as defined by EU anti-smuggling legislation. Instead, the court recognised that such actions are an exercise of family responsibility. The court’s decision relates to the Kinsa case which involves a Congolese woman referred to as “O.B.” who used false passports to bring her daughter and niece to seek asylum in Italy and was subsequently charged with facilitating illegal entry. Commenting on the ruling, O.B.’s lawyer, Francesca Cancellaro, said that it had shown that “every national and European law can be challenged under the lens of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights”. She also suggested that it could prompt a “reconsideration of the entire anti-smuggling legislation, leaving no space for the criminalisation of migration and solidarity”.

On 4 June, the Italian Senate approved a controversial new “security” law proposed by the government. The Security Decree introduces harsher penalties for protest-related offences, including property damage, disruptive sit-ins and unauthorised demonstrations, and grants increased powers to law enforcement bodies. As a result of the new law, passive forms of protest such as blocking roads or engaging in sit-ins may result in prison sentences of two years or more, depending on the location of the activity. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has praised the law as a “decisive step” towards strengthening the protection of citizens, vulnerable groups and law enforcement personnel. However, the legislation has sparked widespread protests and strong criticism from opposition parties, human rights organisations and advocates who have warned that it risks criminalising dissent, restricting civil liberties and undermining the right to peaceful assembly.

Italy has ended its contracts with the Israeli cyber company Paragon following the scandal over the alleged misuse of its spyware technology. According to a report by the Parliamentary Committee for the Security of the Republic (COPASIR), Italy’s intelligence services initially suspended and then fully terminated their use of Paragon’s spyware. The move came after revelations that the spyware had been used to monitor critics of the government, including journalists and the founder of the search and rescue NGO Mediterraneanea Saving Humans, Luca Casarini.

A Greek naval court has charged 17 members of the Hellenic Coast Guard in connection with the deadly Pylos shipwreck which occurred in June 2023. The captain of the coastguard vessel which was present when the Adriana fishing boat sank off the coast of Pylos with the loss of up to 650 people faces charges of “causing a shipwreck,” “dangerous interference of maritime transport,” and “failure to provide assistance”. The other crew members have been charged with “complicity” in the captain’s alleged actions. All 17 will be questioned in the coming weeks by the naval court’s deputy prosecutor after which the court will either proceed to a full trial or dismiss the charges.

The issue of designating Türkiye as a “safe third country” for refugees has returned to the Greek Council of State. On 10 June, ECRE member organisations the Greek Refugee Council and Refugee Support Aegean, submitted an annulment application against the latest joint ministerial decision which again lists Türkiye as a safe third country for people from Syria, Afghanistan, Somalia, Pakistan and Bangladesh who try to claim asylum there. Referring to mounting evidence, court rulings and reports, the two organisations have argued that Türkiye should not be considered “safe” because it fails to provide effective protection or access to asylum procedures for refugees.

A group of Greek NGOs has called on the Ministry of Asylum and Migration to stop evicting people on the move from camps. In a statement issued on 4 June, the 33 NGOs, including several ECRE member organisations, have warned that these evictions would put already vulnerable groups at greater risk by increasing the likelihood of them experiencing homelessness, exploitation, sexual assault and violence. They have also highlighted that evictions could disrupt children’s education and interrupt people’s employment. In order to minimise the risks they identified, the NGOs have urged the government to establish a sustainable and dignified support and integration framework that guarantees suitable accommodation for people on the move, regardless of their legal status, both during and after their stay in temporary reception facilities.

A new “voluntary repatriation plan” for Syrians has been launched in Cyprus. The scheme, which was presented by Deputy Minister of Migration and International Protection Nicholas Ioannides on 29 May, is targeting families, including couples without children, who applied for asylum or received international protection before 31 December 2024 and will initially be implemented June-August 2025. In order to participate in the scheme, which involves financial incentives to return to Syria, people are required to withdraw their asylum applications or renounce their international protection status, thereby ending their legal stay as recognised refugees. The scheme has received sharp criticism from NGOs, including ECRE member organisation the Cyprus Refugee Council (CRC). A spokesperson for CRC said: “Promoting return at this point, specifically targeting women and children, without even carrying out assessments on the conditions they will be returning to violates the best interest of the children and will place many of them in precarious situations”. In addition, the Syrians in Cyprus community advocacy group has warned that offering special residence and employment permits to Syrians only if their family members return to Syria goes against  the principle of family reunification by risking separating families.

A group of Maltese NGOs, including ECRE member organisation the aditus Foundation, have launched the Malta Migration Archive to document the impact of Malta’s migration policies. The archive compiles data, testimonies and case studies to show how Malta’s delayed responses to distress calls and inaction at sea have endangered thousands of lives. Analysis of the archive’s data has revealed a major shift since Malta and Libya signed a coordination deal in May 2020.  In 2020, migrant boats in Malta’s search and rescue zone were roughly three times more likely to be rescued by Maltese authorities than intercepted by Libyan forces. However, by 2024, this trend had reversed, with boats approximately ten times more likely to be intercepted by the Libyan coastguard than rescued by the Armed Forces of Malta.

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