The civil rescue ship Sea-Eye 4, carrying 87 migrants, was refused permission to enter a port in Malta at the weekend and has continued on to southern Italy in the hope of being able to dock there.
Med: EU Focuses on Preventing Arrivals as Civil Search and Rescuers Fight to Save Lives, Arrivals Drop in Malta as the Scandalous El Hiblu Trial Continues
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On 22 May 400 people rescued by SEA-EYE 4 disembarked in Italy. However, more than 600 people are confirmed dead or missing on the central Mediterranean route and almost 10,000 have been returned to Libya, where the bodies of babies and toddlers washed up over the weekend. Meanwhile the focus of EU and member states remains the prevention of arrivals with renewed efforts of migration control cooperation with Tunisia and Libya and Cyprus requesting intervention from the Commission to stop departures from Syria. In Malta, where arrivals have dropped significantly, the trial of the so-called El Hiblu three continues with witnesses supporting the accused and the defence seeking correct translations.