EU member states reached an agreement today

Agreement risks leaving people stranded, detained or destitute along Europe’s borders

‘People who arrive at the EU’s borders must be able to seek asylum, have their claim examined fairly, and be received with dignity’ – Eve Geddie

In response to news that EU leaders have agreed a position on how to deal with sudden increases in arrivals at Europe’s borders, Eve Geddie, Amnesty International’s EU Director, said:

“People who arrive at the EU’s borders must be able to seek asylum, have their claim examined fairly, and be received with dignity. This agreement risks leaving people stranded, detained or destitute along Europe’s borders and will do nothing to improve the protection of people seeking asylum in the EU.

“Denying people seeking asylum their rights is dangerous, and a disproportionate response to situations which countries could perfectly well deal with under existing rules.

“Today’s agreement is a step towards finalising negotiations on a broader package of EU asylum reforms. It is vital that the rush to reach an agreement does not lead to human rights being side-lined in the process. We fully expect all EU institutions to insist that these rights are guaranteed as negotiations advance in the coming months.”

Human rights impact on people seeking asylum

Today’s agreement would allow EU member states to delay registration of people seeking asylum, channel far greater numbers of people through second-rate border asylum procedures and expand detention at the border.

Amnesty has documented the significant human rights abuses that result from these policies – including the use of arbitrary detention and denial of access to asylum in Poland, Latvia, and Lithuania since 2021.

If adopted, the proposed Crisis Regulation would further normalise the use of emergency provisions in Europe to deal with arrivals. It would weaken the coherence of the common European asylum system, while failing to prevent “crisis” situations from arising in the future.

Amnesty calls on all EU institutions to refrain from additional exceptional measures in EU law that undermine fundamental rights. The notion of “instrumentalisation” of migrants, namely, actions by third countries or non-state actors to facilitate arrivals into the EU, must be firmly rejected and cannot serve to justify further derogations.