FRONTLINE STATES

Two European border officers, wearing uniforms marked with both EU and national police insignia, are standing in front of a patrol vehicle with the doors open, using binoculars to survey the landscape during sunset. The terrain is open and rural, with mountains in the background and a partly cloudy sky. The scene captures a moment of coordinated field monitoring as part of EU border management operations

The elephant in the room: Returns and Europe’s migration deadlock

23/04/202521/05/2025

Returns remain the most politically sensitive and operationally complex element of European migration policy—especially for frontline states like Greece

A group of refugee and migrant children stand behind a metal fence inside the Reception and Identification Centre in Moria, Lesvos, Greece, wearing winter clothes and looking out with somber expressions. A bicycle is seen in the foreground

The New Pact on Migration and Asylum: How fair and equitable is the new agreement for the European South?

07/04/202529/04/2025

The New Pact on Migration and Asylum promises solidarity but leaves frontline Mediterranean states questioning whether true burden-sharing has finally arrived—or if old imbalances remain unresolved