Council
of Europe hits back at EU leaders calling to ease migrant expulsions
Secretary-General
Alain Berset warned that courts must not be “weaponized” for political gain.
May 24, 2025
5:18 pm CET
By Louise
Guillot
The head of
the Council of Europe on Saturday pushed back against a call by nine EU
countries to make it easier to expel migrants who commit crime.
COE
Secretary-General Alain Berset warned that courts must not be “weaponized” for
political gain.
In a
statement released Thursday, Italy, Denmark, Austria, Belgium, the Czech
Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland asked the European Court of
Human Rights to review how it interprets the European Convention on Human
Rights.
They argued
that in some cases, the court “posed too many limitations on the states’
ability to decide whom to expel from their territories” and requested “a new
and open minded conversation about the interpretation” of the court.
Berset hit
back at the group, saying in a statement that “upholding the independence and
impartiality of the Court is our bedrock.”
He added
that while political debate is “healthy” in any democracy, “politicizing the
Court is not,” and warned that “no judiciary should face political pressure.”
“Institutions
that protect fundamental rights cannot bend to political cycles. If they do, we
risk eroding the very stability they were built to ensure,” Berset insisted.
Created in
1949, the Council of Europe gathers 46 member countries and has the core task
of upholding fundamental human rights across the European continent.
Max Griera
contributed to this report.
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