BERLIN, November 9, 2026 — The German government’s decision to halt funding for search-and-rescue organizations has left charities like SOS Humanity struggling to operate, amid rising deportations and restrictive EU policies. Since Friedrich Merz took over as German chancellor in May 2025, all funding to national search-and-rescue organisations has stopped, according to the statement.
Strategic Context
The record shows that SOS Humanity has rescued 5,213 people since August 2022, a third of those were children. Officials confirmed that the charity’s workers, who use first names only, have been dealing with an astronomical gap in their budget due to growing fuel costs and increasing legal costs from administrative barriers and port detentions by the Italian government. The Italian government, led by Giorgia Meloni, has intensified port detentions of rescue vessels, further complicating the situation. Johann Wadephul alleged that sea rescue organisations are “enabling people-smuggling gangs to carry out their business” in 2023, a claim that has been disputed by the charities.
Deportation Surge
Deportations across Europe have accelerated following the implementation of the new Pact on Migration and Asylum, officials confirmed. Turkish citizens rank first among those deported from Europe, drawing attention to increasingly restrictive migration policies. The adoption of the pact has been followed by an increase in deportation orders targeting Kurdish refugees in particular. According to the Council of the European Union, the Return Regulation adopted on 1 October 2026 aims to accelerate the deportation and return of irregular migrants.
Humanitarian Crisis
The situation in Ceuta, a Spanish enclave, has become a humanitarian crisis, with an estimated 9,000 to 10,000 migrants still stuck there and not wanting to leave. Migrants sleep in the streets and on the hoods of cars, and begging has risen sharply, frustrating local residents. Health, sanitation, and access to latrines are becoming harder to ignore, officials confirmed. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez faced questions about his government’s choices regarding migration regularization, and European Commissioner for Internal Affairs and Migration Magnus Brunner criticized Sanchez’s regularization program.
Charities Warn of Rising Drowning Deaths
Charities warn that the reduction in rescue capacity will lead to rising drowning deaths, as migrants continue to attempt to cross the Mediterranean. SOS Humanity’s communications coordinator, Sofia, said that people don’t travel into the Mediterranean because there are NGOs, but because they are escaping famine, conflict, violence, and other desperate situations. The charity’s ability to operate has been severely reduced due to the lack of funding and increasing costs, leaving migrants at greater risk of drowning.
On 1 October 2026, the Council of the European Union formally adopted the Return Regulation, aimed at accelerating the deportation and return of irregular migrants, according to Özgül Saki, a Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party MP.
Sources
- Migration power politics across the Mediterranean – GIS Reports
- Merz, Meloni and the EU: How political attacks on rescue charities are leaving migrants to drown
- “We Have To Improve Our Leadership To Deliver” — Obasanjo Blames Insecurity, Poverty, Joblessness For Deadly Migration – TheNigeriaLawyer
- Saki: Turkish citizens top the list of deportations from Europe
- Saki: Turkish citizens top the list of deportations from Europe
Photo: Mateo Krossler / Unsplash (Unsplash License)
