Greece is intensifying efforts to curb illegal migration after 11 years of a continuing crisis, focusing on halting boats making the roughly 200-mile crossing from Libya to the island of Crete (Greece's largest island, in the eastern Mediterranean). In a significant development, five EU nations — Greece, Germany, Austria, Denmark, and the Netherlands — have persuaded Uganda to accept deported migrants, with the first transfers potentially beginning next year once a formal agreement is signed. Critics, including the Greek Refugee Council, warn that the government's increasingly hardline approach — including alleged pushbacks of asylum seekers into international waters — risks undermining fundamental rights and the rule of law.