Editing Mediterranean Sea (section)

===21st century and migrations===
{{Further|European migrant crisis|List of migrant vessel incidents on the Mediterranean Sea|Timeline of the European migrant crisis}}{{CSS image crop
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In 2013, the [[Malta|Maltese]] president described the Mediterranean Sea as a "cemetery" due to the large number of migrants who drowned there after their boats capsized.<ref>{{cite web|title=Migrant deaths prompt calls for EU action|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2013/10/13/migrant-deaths-prompt-calls-for-eu-action/|website=Al Jazeera&nbsp;– English|access-date=14 March 2022|date=13 October 2013|archive-date=14 March 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220314151430/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2013/10/13/migrant-deaths-prompt-calls-for-eu-action/|url-status=live}}</ref> [[European Parliament]] president [[Martin Schulz]] said in 2014 that Europe's migration policy "turned the Mediterranean into a graveyard", referring to the number of drowned refugees in the region as a direct result of the policies.<ref>{{cite web|title=Schulz: EU migrant policy 'turned Mediterranean into graveyard'|url=http://euobserver.com/tickers/121894|website=EUobserver|access-date=12 December 2014|date=24 October 2013|archive-date=29 October 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141029130716/http://euobserver.com/tickers/121894|url-status=live}}</ref> An Azerbaijani official described the sea as "a burial ground ... where people die".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://topnews.az/en/news/148766/Novruz-Mammadov-The-Mediterranean-become-a-burial-ground.html|title=Novruz Mammadov: The Mediterranean become a burial ground|access-date=4 May 2015|archive-date=25 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150925095650/http://topnews.az/en/news/148766/Novruz-Mammadov-The-Mediterranean-become-a-burial-ground.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Following the [[2013 Lampedusa migrant shipwreck]], the [[Letta Cabinet|Italian government]] decided to strengthen the national system for the patrolling of the Mediterranean Sea by authorising "[[Operation Mare Nostrum]]", a military and humanitarian mission in order to rescue the migrants and arrest the traffickers of immigrants. In 2015, more than one million migrants crossed the Mediterranean Sea into Europe.<ref>{{cite web |title=Over one million sea arrivals reach Europe in 2015 |url=http://www.unhcr.org/news/latest/2015/12/5683d0b56/million-sea-arrivals-reach-europe-2015.html |website=UNHCR – The UN Refugee Agency |date=30 December 2015 |access-date=20 August 2016 |archive-date=24 December 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161224084500/http://www.unhcr.org/news/latest/2015/12/5683d0b56/million-sea-arrivals-reach-europe-2015.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

Italy was particularly affected by the [[European migrant crisis]]. Since 2013, over 700,000 migrants have landed in Italy,<ref>{{cite news |title=What will Italy's new government mean for migrants? |url=https://www.thelocal.it/20180521/what-will-italys-new-government-mean-for-migrants |newspaper=The Local Italy |date=21 May 2018 |access-date=6 July 2018 |archive-date=1 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190401231010/https://www.thelocal.it/20180521/what-will-italys-new-government-mean-for-migrants |url-status=live }}</ref> mainly sub-Saharan Africans.<ref>{{cite news |title=African migrants fear for future as Italy struggles with surge in arrivals |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-italy-migrants-africa/african-migrants-fear-for-future-as-italy-struggles-with-surge-in-arrivals-idUSKBN1A30QD |work=Reuters |date=18 July 2017 |access-date=6 July 2018 |archive-date=2 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190402002627/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-italy-migrants-africa/african-migrants-fear-for-future-as-italy-struggles-with-surge-in-arrivals-idUSKBN1A30QD |url-status=live }}</ref>