Member states of the European Union are doing too little to remedy the humanitarian crisis in the Mediterranean Sea, where thousands of people risk their lives in order to escape armed conflicts and famine.

The European Community Shipowners' Association (ECSA) has several times tried to call out the EU and has now teamed up with the International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF) and the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) to issue a joint letter to the leaders of the 28 EU member states in which they call for immediate collective steps to be made in order to lessen the growing humanitarian crisis, which according to the organizations is out of control.