According to Greece’s Migration Minister Thanos Plevris, there are around 550,000 people in Libya waiting for the first available opportunity to cross the Mediterranean to Europe.

In an interview with the Greek TV channel ERT Plevris says that the migration flows in the eastern Aegean Sea have decreased by about 70 percent compared to 2025, thanks to cooperation with the Turkish coast guard and surveillance measures, and that the biggest problem at the moment is Libya.

Due to the situation, the Greek state is working closely with the EU border agency Frontex and the Libyan authorities to combat smuggling gangs, detect boats early, and prevent departures from the North African coast.

Plevris’s warning comes at the same time as the number of illegal migrants arriving in Crete is increasing. On Sunday, the Greek coast guard picked up 125 migrants traveling in two boats south of the island. On the same day, the country’s meteorological service reported calm weather with light winds between Libya and Crete.

Authorities expect that more boats have departed from Libya towards Crete.

According to the United Nations refugee agency UNHCR, about 42,000 migrants reached Greek islands and thus also the EU by sea last year. In the eastern Mediterranean, the agency registered 107 deaths during the same period. According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), around 1,050 people have died or gone missing during the crossing since the beginning of the year.

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