We present temperature, salinity and oxygen data collected during the M84/3 and P414 cruises in April and June 2011 on a basin-wide scale to determine the ongoing oceanographic characteristics in the Eastern Mediterranean (EM). The east-west transect through the EM sampled during the M84/3 cruise together with data gained on previous cruises over the period 1987-2011 are analysed in terms of regional aspects of the evolution of water mass properties and heat and salt content variation. The present state of the EM basin is also evaluated in the context of the evolution of the Eastern Mediterranean Transient (EMT). From this analysis we can infer that the state of the basin is still far from achieving the pre-EMT conditions. Indeed, the 2011 oceanographic conditions of the deep layer of the central Ionian lie between the thermohaline characteristics of the EMT and the pre-EMT phase, indicating a possible slow return towards the latter. In addition, the thermohaline properties of the Adriatic Deep Water are still in line (warmer and saltier) as when it restarted to produce dense waters after the EMT. Special attention is given to the variability of thermohaline properties of the Levantine Intermediate Water and Adriatic Deep Water in three main areas: the Cretan, the central Levantine and the central Ionian Seas. Finally, this study evidences the relationships among the hydrological property distributions of the upper-layer in the Levantine basin and the circulation regime in the Ionian.