An emergency situation in Crete has once again pushed migration to the forefront of Europe’s political debate. The UN Refugee Agency estimates that around 12,000 migrants arrived there from North Africa this year, coming to an island with a population of a little over 600,000. This marks a 300% increase on last year’s figures, and Crete now hosts a third of all arrivals of irregular migrants in Greece. Its facilities are overcrowded and underfunded, while efforts to relocate these immigrants to other centres on the mainland cannot keep up with the pressures.

Inhospitable conditions like these may run counter to humanitarian obligations under European Union law, but EU member states have also politically used them to send a message of deterrence. Crete is only the latest example: previously, the island of Lampedusa in Italy, the Canary Islands in Spain, and Cyprus all served this purpose. The slow processing of asylum requests is part of the problem, and Cyprus even completely stopped processing Syrian nationals last year due to too many arrivals.

Another set of deterrence measures involves agreements with the countries from which those boats depart. Giorgia Meloni has been spearheading these efforts since coming to power in Italy in 2022. Meanwhile, the EU has signed agreements with Turkey, Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Mauritania, Albania, and North Macedonia, which involve logistical and financial support for the countries to prevent migrants from reaching Europe. This is likely to provide a template for solving the emergency situation in Crete, too. Boats arriving on the island come from the Libyan city of Tobruk, which is not under the control of the internationally recognised government in Tripoli. Brussels and Greece are currently trying to work out a solution with the local administration under General Khalifa Haftar.

Irregular migrants are a favourite target of Right-wing movements throughout Europe. Last weekend, over 100,000 protesters gathered in central London, waving national flags and demonstrating against increased immigration into the UK. It was the largest rally ever organised by anti-Islam activist Tommy Robinson. In France, the Right-wing politician Philippe de Villiers launched a petition this month calling for a referendum on immigration. It has already garnered 1.3 million signatures (though these figures may be inflated thanks to the capacity for one person to open multiple accounts), while former Rassemblement National presidential candidate Marine Le Pen has seized on the petition as a sign of public exasperation at mass immigration into France.

Crete, being a much smaller place, is even more vulnerable to a sudden influx of migrants. As the EU wrestles with the developing crisis on the Greek island, a policy rethink should surely follow.

This is an edited version of an article first published in the Eurointelligence newsletter.