“It’s not because it’s too expensive. Rosling points out that a seat on these boats costs €1,000 or more, while a flight from Ethiopia to Sweden is only €400; from Lebanon to the UK is also €400; and from Egypt to Italy is only €320. It’s not because their governments are stopping them, either. By and large, these states have no real ability or interest in stopping emigration. Rather, it is about incentives. Rosling points to EU Directive 2001/51/EC, which states — in essence — that to combat illegal immigration, ‘Every airline and boatline that brings a person without the proper documents for entry has to pay all the costs for returning that person back to their country of origin.'”
http://fee.org/anythingpeaceful/detail/why-are-so-many-refugees-drowning