The migration policies across Europe are in the throes of a profound crisis, which is rapidly escalating into an open political rift within the states themselves.
The inability to formulate a unified approach is forcing individual states to act unilaterally: whilst some capitals are moving towards an unprecedented tightening of domestic laws and an expansion of the powers of the security services, others are outright refusing to comply with pan-European agreements and to accept refugees. In the meantime, decentralisation and mutual recriminations are jeopardising European solidarity, leading to an open political rift within the states themselves.
No sense in deporting Pakistani rapist – Green Party leader in Britain
The UK, which is going through a challenging period in terms of deportations and migration control, has become the centre of a scandal after a rapist from Pakistan was released from prison after 13 years and has still not been deported. A number of politicians from across the political spectrum agreed that 73-year-old Shabir Ahmed, convicted of sexual offences against girls aged 13 and over, must be deported since his release last month.
However, this position proved to be divisive after Green Party leader Zack Polanski said that there was no “diplomatic sense” in deportation. According to him, “it makes sense” that he “should remain in prison until he is no longer a threat.”
“I don’t think we should be making these decisions on a case-by-case basis. I think we need to ensure consistency and also ensure we adhere to the rule of law,” he said, speaking on ITV. “He committed those crimes in Britain, so it makes sense to me that, as a British citizen, he should remain in a British prison,” he added, disregarding the fact that Ahmed had been stripped of his British citizenship following his conviction.
Ahmed came to the country at the age of 14, which serves as a reminder that ministers are barred from deporting him under the 1971 Act, which protects the rights of Commonwealth citizens residing here. Despite the act, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has paved the way for deportation, stating that legislation “should not be used as a bar against removal in cases such as that of Shabir Ahmed.”
However, another sticking point in this case is that Ahmed’s home country, Pakistan, rejects stance on the return of a paedophile.
Tahir Andrabi, Pakistan’s Foreign Office spokesperson, stated that this is an issue for the UK to resolve, as he “grew up, was raised, groomed and, unfortunately, spoiled” in Britain.
Meanwhile, the issue of deportations has also come to the fore following the publication of figures on 16 July, which indicate that in the period from August 2025 to June 2026, the number of asylum seekers arriving in the UK from France exceeded the number returned under the so-called “one in, one out” scheme. During the first month, from 6 August to 6 September 2025, no migrants were returned and none arrived.
Overall, between August 2025 and June 2026, around 1,117 asylum seekers arrived from France, of whom 1,087 were deported back to France.
As of today, crossings of the English Channel by small vessels have begun to decline, but remain a persistent and evolving threat. In the 2025-2026 financial year, their number rose by three per cent compared with the previous financial year.
Italy refuses to accept migrants despite the CEAS
In the meantime, divisions within the European Union are deepening, particularly following the Italian government, led by Giorgia Meloni, completely blocking co-operation with its EU partners, derailing all timetables and failing to propose new deadlines for the redistribution of refugees. Italy’s current stance calls into question the viability of the agreements on the readmission of migrants announced by German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt at the end of 2025.
At that time, the German Interior Minister reported that agreements had been reached with Italy and Greece, under which both southern countries were to take back migrants who had first crossed the EU’s borders on their territory. However, in practice, Italy has failed to fulfil these obligations. Since the CEAS came into force on 12 June, all 12 of Germany’s official requests for the transfer of migrants have been rejected in their entirety.
Nevertheless, neither Dobrindt nor the German government has so far made any public statements or levelled any criticism at Rome on this matter.
EU-Tunisia migration agreement accused of human rights violations
The Memorandum of Understanding signed between the European Union and the Tunisian government on 16 July 2023 has drawn criticism from 46 non-governmental organisations, including SOS Humanity, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch.
In a joint statement, the organisations emphasised that the memorandum’s stated aim was to prevent the illegal departure of boats carrying migrants from Tunisia to Europe. But the financial and technical aid provided by the European Union for border control actually gives the Tunisian authorities carte blanche to commit gross human rights violations.
“People we have rescued from distress at sea have shared with our crew harrowing accounts of torture, sexualised violence and racist abuse they have been subjected to in Tunisia,” said Marie Michel, a policy expert at SOS Humanity, according to Infomigrants. “The EU-backed Tunisian Coast Guard acts violently against people in distress at sea and forces them back into a system of abuse, with a high risk of being deported to the desert or trafficked to Libya. With every euro paid to the security forces responsible, the EU is entrenching a system of abuse against people in need of protection.”
Human rights activists cite a wealth of evidence of ill-treatment of refugees and migrants by Tunisian security forces. Local security services are accused of forced deportation, the dismantling of makeshift camps and the forced expulsion of people to the border areas of Algeria and Libya. Stranded in the desert without even minimal supplies of food and water, the victims are effectively left to fend for themselves, a situation exacerbated by the fact that their means of communication and any navigation devices are confiscated.
Amnesty International also claims that “monitoring measures announced or adopted by the EU have so far failed to lead to improvements for refugees and migrants.”
Eyewitnesses among the migrants share shocking details of clashes with Tunisian security forces. According to their reports, the coastguard deliberately capsizes boats on the high seas, causing mass loss of life, and rescues only some of those drowning. Those detained at sea and on land, including women and men who have been tied up, are subjected to brutal gang beatings with iron bars and pipes, have their personal belongings confiscated, and are forced to undergo humiliating searches.
“The stories we hear from refugees, asylum seekers and migrants trapped in Tunisia expose the human cost of the EU-Tunisia migration partnership, which is built on containment rather than protection. The EU cannot continue to look the other way whilst it shirks its human rights obligations and its migration cooperation continues to fuel such serious violations. This cooperation on border control must come to an end,” said Heby Moryaef of Amnesty, according to Infomigrants.
Since the agreement between the EU and Tunisia was signed in July 2023, a total of around 130,000–140,000 migrants have arrived in Europe via the Mediterranean route.
