On Thursday 22 May, Denmark and Italy, supported by seven other Member States (Austria, Belgium, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and the Czech Republic), called for reform of the European Court of Human Rights and a debate on the interpretation of the European Convention on Human Rights on migration issues.
“Over the past decades, irregular migration has contributed significantly to the immigration to Europe. Many [of these migrants: Editor’s note] have come here via legal pathways. They have learned our languages, believe in democracy, contribute to our societies and have decided to integrate themselves into our culture. Others have come and chosen not to integrate, isolating themselves in parallel societies and distancing themselves from our fundamental values of equality, democracy and freedom. In particular, some have not contributed positively to the societies welcoming them and have chosen to commit crimes”, write these leaders.
These nine countries “believe that there is a need to look at how the European Court of Human Rights has developed its interpretation of the European Convention on Human Rights. Whether the Court, in some cases, has extended the scope of the Convention too far as compared with the original intentions behind the Convention, thus shifting the balance between the interests which should be protected. We believe that the development in the Court’s interpretation has, in some cases, limited our ability to make political decisions in our own democracies”.
Cases concerning the expulsion of criminal foreign nationals and the interpretation of the Convention has “resulted in the protection of the wrong people and posed too many limitations on the states’ ability to decide whom to expel from their territories”.
“It is sad to see our European leaders coming together to undermine the very foundations of the EU: human rights and the Rule of law. This is a textbook case of ‘crimmigration’- the conflation of migration and crime”, said the NGO Picum.
Renew Europe MEP Fabienne Keller (French) is concerned about “a direct attack on this international convention, which is a pillar of the European project and has guaranteed respect for fundamental rights and our values for 75 years”.
The Convention “may be subject to change. But in the current international context and under pressure from populists, attacking the foundations of our fundamental freedoms in this way is dangerous and unacceptable”.
Link to the letter: https://aeur.eu/f/h03 (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)