On a sun-baked Sunday in late September 2025, the Mediterranean Sea—so often a symbol of freedom and passage—became the setting for yet another tragedy in Europe’s battle to control migration from North Africa. According to the German nongovernmental organization Sea-Watch, a packed dinghy carrying around 30 migrants was intercepted by a patrol boat from the Libyan coast guard off the Libyan coast. What began as a routine interception swiftly spiraled into chaos: as the migrants attempted to resist and flee, high waves swept four people into the water. One migrant drowned, while three others were rescued. The grim episode was captured on video by Sea-Watch’s aircraft, offering rare visual evidence of an all-too-common occurrence in these waters.
“One person drowned under the eyes of our air crew … the person was basically abandoned at sea and all the other survivors were at first rescued by a merchant vessel which was in the surroundings,” Sea-Watch spokesperson Giorgia Linardi told The Associated Press. The survivors, Linardi added, were later transferred to Libyan coast guard patrol vessels and brought back to Libya. The Tripoli-based government and the Libyan coast guard did not respond to requests for comment on the incident, which unfolded just days before a leaked European Commission document would raise new questions about the EU’s role in funding migration controls in the region.
The tragedy comes amid mounting concerns over the European Union’s financial support for migration management outside its borders—particularly in North Africa. A leaked internal European Commission document, seen by EUobserver on September 30, 2025, revealed plans by the Brussels executive to spend €142 million up until 2027 to reinforce migration controls in countries bordering the Mediterranean. The warning in the document was stark: EU funds spent outside the bloc to tackle irregular migration may end up benefitting people sanctioned internationally for human rights abuses.
This revelation has put a spotlight on the EU’s complex entanglement with North African authorities, especially the Libyan coast guard. The document’s caution echoes long-standing criticisms from humanitarian organizations and rights groups, who argue that European support for border enforcement in Libya can inadvertently empower actors accused of grave abuses. The leaked paper, in essence, urges policymakers to tread carefully, lest their efforts to stem migration inadvertently bolster those already facing international censure.
Visuals of this uneasy partnership are not hard to find. In a photo from 2023, Olivér Várhelyi—then EU enlargement commissioner under the first Ursula von der Leyen presidency—can be seen touring a patrol boat donated to the Libyan coast guard. The image, released by the European Union, encapsulates both the EU’s commitment to externalizing its border controls and the controversies that swirl around such cooperation.
Sea-Watch’s recent experiences underscore the risks and moral dilemmas at the heart of Europe’s migration strategy. The organization, which monitors the central Mediterranean from the sky and sea, has repeatedly encountered hostile actions from Libyan authorities. Earlier in September 2025, the vessel Sea-Watch 5 came under fire while rescuing 66 people at sea. “At night, we were threatened by a Libyan militia vessel and ordered to leave their waters. Minutes after everyone was safely on board, a shot was fired,” the group reported. These confrontations, Sea-Watch argues, are not isolated incidents but part of a broader pattern of violence and intimidation in the Libyan search-and-rescue area.
Beyond the immediate dangers faced by migrants and rescuers, the legal and political context is fraught with tension. Sea-Watch has sharply criticized Italy’s requirement that NGOs obtain permission from the Libyan coast guard before conducting rescue operations. According to Sea-Watch, this policy violates international law because the Libyan coast guard routinely forces migrants back to Libya—a country Italian courts do not recognize as safe for return. The group’s spokesperson, Giorgia Linardi, emphasized that such incidents are commonplace in the area, though rarely caught on video. The footage from the recent tragedy, then, serves as a powerful—if harrowing—testament to what is at stake.
Italian authorities, for their part, have accused Sea-Watch and other NGOs of being uncooperative with the Libyan coast guard, which is officially responsible for coordinating search and rescue efforts in the region. Under the tough migration policies championed by right-wing Premier Giorgia Meloni, Italy has also detained rescue ships for extended periods, further complicating the already perilous work of humanitarian organizations. Meloni’s government insists that strict controls are necessary to prevent irregular migration and uphold national sovereignty, a view that resonates with many voters but draws fierce criticism from rights advocates.
The broader European approach, as outlined in the leaked Commission document, seeks to balance the political imperative of reducing irregular arrivals with the legal and ethical obligations to protect vulnerable people. Yet, as the document warns, the risk that EU funds could end up in the hands of sanctioned human rights abusers is very real. This dilemma is not new: for years, critics have charged that European support for Libyan border forces has enabled cycles of abuse, including arbitrary detention, violence, and extortion of migrants.
While the European Commission’s plans to spend €142 million on migration controls up to 2027 reflect a strategic effort to address the root causes of migration and strengthen external borders, the lack of transparency and accountability in some recipient countries raises uncomfortable questions. How can the EU ensure that its money does not inadvertently support those complicit in abuses? What mechanisms exist to monitor the end use of funds in volatile environments like Libya?
These questions are not merely academic. They have life-and-death consequences for the thousands of people who attempt the dangerous crossing each year, as well as for the NGOs and merchant vessels that find themselves on the front lines of a humanitarian and political crisis. The recent drowning off the Libyan coast—witnessed, filmed, and reported by Sea-Watch—drives home the urgency of finding answers. As the EU continues to externalize its border controls and invest in partnerships with countries like Libya, the need for robust safeguards and genuine accountability has never been greater.
For now, the Mediterranean remains both a gateway and a graveyard, a place where the ambitions of policy-makers collide with the realities of human desperation and geopolitical complexity. The events of late September 2025, and the warnings contained in the leaked Commission document, remind us that in the quest to manage migration, the line between security and complicity can be perilously thin.