The measures introduced by the European Union in April 2015 to strengthen search and rescue capacity in the central Mediterranean, following the closure of Italy’s Operation Mare Nostrum at the end of 2014, have resulted in a significant decrease in the death rate of migrants and refugees taking this perilous route into Europe. While 1 in 16 people attempting the crossing in the first few months of this year lost their lives, the death rate has plummeted to 1 in 427 since the measures agreed at an emergency summit of EU leaders on 23 April started to come into effect.
