Migration, the European Commission again under the lens of the EU Ombudswoman

Brussels – Impact assessments of the European directive on illegal immigration and the regulation to strengthen Europol’s role in combating migrant smuggling are missing. It is the complaint filed by several NGOs that the European Ombudswoman, Teresa Anjinho, has decided to follow up on, opening an investigation into the European Commission today (24 June).

The two measures were put on the table by the first von der Leyen executive in November 2023 and are currently being negotiated between the EU Parliament and the Member States. They aim to tighten the net on irregular migration and human trafficking by introducing new offences with harsher penalties, but according to NGOs and human rights defenders, this will lead to an expansion of the definition of ‘trafficker’ and ultimately to an increase in prosecutions of both migrants themselves and activists and aid workers.

As pointed out by PICUM (Platform for International Cooperation on Undocumented Migrants) and EDRI (European Digital Rights), the two organisations that addressed the EU Ombudswoman, the European Commission “did not carry out an adequate impact assessment of the two instruments, despite having a clear mandate to do so,” and despite a report, commissioned by the EU executive itself, that recommended such an assessment.

The risk is that in this way, Brussels will “ignore the flagrant human rights violations connected to these two legislative instruments.” According to PICUM, already in 2023, at least 117 people have been criminalised for helping migrants to reach the EU.

The European Parliament’s Research Service (EPRS), in a replacement impact assessment published in March 2025, pointed out the ‘misalignment’ of the Commission’s proposal with international standards and the EU’s core standards in this area. The document expressed concern about issues related to definitions, the lack of sufficient human rights guarantees, and the absence of a clear distinction between facilitation offences and the legitimate provision of humanitarian services and assistance. The EPRS concluded by calling for the withdrawal of the proposal “until a thorough and complete impact assessment has been carried out.”

Anjinho, in her letter announcing the opening of the investigation, requested from the European Commission a written response to the complaint and specific questions by 24 September 2025. For Silvia Carta, Head of Advocacy at PICUM, “the Ombudswoman’s decision to open an enquiry against the Commission is an important recognition that this proposal risks violating fundamental rights and that the Commission has not taken these risks seriously.”