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Palermo / Rome / Berlin – Within a few days, two landmark rulings have confirmed the course of civilian sea rescue and put the far-right Italian government in its place. The government is currently planning to revive its 2018 policy of closed ports. It was this very policy that Carola Rackete rebelled against in 2019 and for which Italy has just been ordered to pay a substantial amount in damages.

This factsheet provides a summary of political developments and operational updates regarding our ships and aircraft from July to December 2025.

Berlin, 12 February 2026 – According to public announcements made on 11 February 2026, the Italian government under Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is planning the third part of its so-called “security package.” The draft law reportedly seeks to reinstate a naval blockade on civilian sea-rescue operations in the central Mediterranean.

Ahead of the vote in the European Parliament on 10 February, we, the undersigned organisations, urge the Members of the European Parliament to reject the proposed EU-wide list of so-called ‘safe countries of origin’. This list is an instrument to deny access to protection and to legitimize violence and persecution in these countries. One cannot make a country safe by putting it on a list, as the example of Tunisia shows.