Council of Europe hits back at EU leaders calling to ease migrant expulsions

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.