(approximately 3,000 apprehensions in 2012) but more ill-equipped initially than before to house and care for arrivals. Current Outlook The continuation of the Syrian crisis, the military conscription in Eritrea, the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan are some of the factors triggering a significant flow of irregular arrivals, this time via the much more perilous sea passage. Migrant arrivals by sea doubled in the first six months of 2014 to more than 25,000, according to Greek Coastguard , though this number only covers those apprehended at the border. Syrians rank first, followed by Afghans and sub-Saharan Africans. The flows are now much more mixed in terms of composition; women with children, unaccompanied minors, families and elderly members mean that the need for reception, care, proper screening and identification of vulnerabilities are even more urgent than before. Rough seas are frequent, especially in the summer time, carried by strong northerly winds, which means that many boats capsize. In contrast to the Italian authorities, the Greek Coastguard does not actively search for migrant vessels to offer assistance unless they capsize or issue a distress signal. Twelve people died in January of 2014 when a boat carrying 28 migrants overturned while being towed at high speed by a coastguard vessel. Furthermore, the UNHCR has repeatedly voiced concerns over ‘pushbacks’-a practice whereby migrant boats are towed back into Turkish territorial waters. The management of irregular arrivals is combined with the particularly heavy burden of the financial crisis. As a result, Greece has had to rely extensively on EU funds, in order to implement its immigration control policy. Yet, between the reality on the ground and the policies designed a question of efficiency emerges; how efficient are the policies in place and at what cost, financial, in terms of human resources and in terms of long term impact. The MIDAS project seeks to answer some of these issues, by empirically assessing the effectiveness and efficiency of current irregular migration control policies in Greece. Assessment, thus, takes place by ‘contrasting’ the expected outcomes with the overall costs of migration control policies. The MIDAS Inquiry Discussions on Greece's migration and asylum policies have in recent years primarily taken place from a human rights perspective. Illegal pushbacks along the Greek-Turkish coastline, overnight refoulements across the Evros river, grimy detention centres and violence that went unpunished17 dominated the discourse on Greece's practices towards irregular migrants. A 17 Among the many reports see: Proasyl and the Group of Lawyers for the Rights of Migrants and Refugees (Athens), “The truth may be bitter, but it must be told”, 2007; Human Rights Watch, “No Refuge: Migrans in Greece”, 2009; Medecins sans Frontieres,“The invisible suffering of Migrants detained in Greece”, 2014 Page 11