Germany Spends Big on Migrant “Rescue” NGOs
3rd March 2026
The German federal government spent nearly €900,000 on organizations involved in Mediterranean migrant rescues in early 2025, according to official disclosures.
Organizations receiving state funds included SOS Humanity (€215,000), SOS Mediterranee (€201,694.50), Sea-Eye (€169,156), RESQSHIP (€34,994.40), and Italy-based Sant’Egidio (€279,000). The payments were made from January 1st to March 31st under the previous traffic light coalition of SPD, Greens, and FDP—and were subsequently halted by the new Union-SPD government.
During this period, 5,555 migrants were “rescued” in the Mediterranean.
They game the system very effectively. The migrants, coached by the NGO personnel, row in makeshift boats out beyond African or Middle Eastern territorial waters, whereupon the “rescue boats” swoop in, pick them up, and take them the rest of the way to E.U. territory, where they receive “asylum”.