Nine EU countries seek European human rights convention's rethink on migration

Published on 23/05/2025 - 11:31 GMT+2

Nine EU countries person signed an unfastened missive calling for nan European Convention connected Human Rights (ECHR) to beryllium reinterpreted to let for argumentation changes connected migration.

The archive was published connected Thursday arsenic portion of an effort led by Italy and Denmark. It was besides signed by leaders from Austria, Belgium, nan Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland.

The signatories, who judge it should beryllium easier to expel migrants who perpetrate crimes, said nan ECHR's mentation of nan normal should beryllium examined.

"It is important to measure whether, successful immoderate cases, nan tribunal has over-extended nan scope of nan normal compared to its original intentions, frankincense altering nan equilibrium betwixt nan interests to beryllium protected," they wrote.

"We judge that nan improvement of nan court's mentation has, successful immoderate cases, constricted our expertise to make governmental decisions successful our democracies," they added.

Their connection comes arsenic anti-immigration parties crossed Europe person surged successful fame successful caller months.

During a property convention connected Thursday pinch her Danish counterpart Mette Frederiksen, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said nan missive sought to "open a governmental statement connected immoderate European conventions and connected nan capacity of those conventions to woody pinch nan awesome issues of our time, starting precisely pinch nan rumor of migration."

In nan letter, Meloni, Frederiksen and their co-signatories outlined immoderate actual changes they would for illustration to see.

The proposals included having greater state to determine erstwhile to expel overseas nationals and having nan expertise to return effective action against "hostile states that activity to usage our values and authorities against us...by instrumentalising migrants astatine our borders".

Signed successful 1950 by nan Council of Europe, nan normal is an world pact designed to protect quality authorities and basal freedoms successful Europe.

All 46 countries that comprise nan Council of Europe are statement to nan convention, including nan 27 EU personnel states.

Any personification whose authorities person been violated nether nan normal by a authorities statement whitethorn bring an action earlier nan court.