POLICY BRIEF DEMOCRACY AND HUMAN RIGHTS MIGRATION IN THE EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN: Commonalities and differences among Egypt, Lebanon, Greece and Cyprus Authors: Maysa Baroud, Angeliki Dimitriadi, Amina Fahmy, Annagrace Messa December 2024 The two sides of the Mediterranean share significant similarities, particularly insofar as how they are responding to the challenges emerging from the socio-economic, climate and security challenges in the region and beyond The EU plays a particular role, with its external dimension not only seeking to support countries in the region but also"asking" them to function as gatekeepers, whether frontline member states like Cyprus and Greece, or countries in the immediate neighbourhood, like Egypt and Lebanon. Across both sides of the Mediterranean, there is increased dissatisfaction with continuing to host and/or receive forced migrants. This spills over to policies that emphasise deterrence and/or return, with little investment in reception and integration capacity.