Migration, Italy and Denmark joined 27 countries to amend the ECHR Convention on Human Rights

Brussels – Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni cashes in on another victory on one of the Italian government’s workhorses in Europe, that of clamping down on irregular immigration. A few days after EU countries  agreed to the new rules on repatriation and safe countries, Italy and Denmark are advancing in the process of revision of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) triggered in May: on board now are 27 Council of Europe member states, which have approved a  joint statement on the need for the ECHR to “effectively address migration challenges.” 

“We need to launch a reflection on the capacity of international conventions to deal with the challenge of irregular flows,” Meloni insisted only yesterday, speaking remotely at the conference of the Global Alliance against the Smuggling of Migrants, a meeting of some 80 countries convened by Ursula von der Leyen and Antonio Costa in Brussels to testify to the European grip on immigration. Meloni found in her Danish counterpart, Mette Frederiksen, the perfect ally: in the still ongoing semester in which Copenhagen held the presidency of the EU Council, the acceleration was clear. 

On 23 May, Italy and Denmark initiated the dispute over the ECHR with an open letter, also signed by Austria, Belgium, Poland, the Czech Republic, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia. A few months later, they were joined by Albania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Finland, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Malta, Montenegro, the Netherlands, Norway, Romania, San Marino, Serbia, Slovakia, Sweden, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom. A total of 27 of the 46 member countries of the Council of Europe, the international body that drafted the Convention in 1950.

“Our governments have a duty to guarantee the human rights and fundamental freedoms of our peoples, including the right to live in peace, freedom and security, to preserve the values of our societies and to effectively protect our borders, prevent illegal border crossings and counter migrant smuggling networks,” the joint statement begins. Putting the freedoms of Europeans to a “severe test,” according to Meloni, Frederiksen and the others are the “people who take advantage of our hospitality by committing serious crimes, human trafficking and instrumentalisation of migrants.”

Challenges that “were unforeseeable” 75 years ago, and which now make a thorough readjustment of the Convention “imperative,” so that the iron fist launched with the new laws does not risk being stopped by the European Court of Human Rights. The ECHR must step aside and allow governments “to deport foreigners convicted of serious crimes,” even if their family resides in the host country, the 27 signatories demand. It must also “bring clarity” on inhuman and degrading treatment, which is “an absolute right” but “should be constrained to the most serious issues so as not to prevent States Parties from taking proportionate decisions on deportation of foreign criminals or in cases of removal or extradition.” And it should not pry into “innovative solutions,” and a
 State Party should not be prevented
from entering into cooperation with third countries regarding asylum and return procedures,
once the human rights of irregular migrants are preserved.” It must not touch the “Albania model,” which is now “a reality in Europe,” the Italian premier claimed. 

For Frederiksen, it is nothing more than “an adjustment of the balance between the important public interests of defending freedom and security in our societies and the individual rights of foreign criminals.” For Meloni, it is about ensuring that the security of citizens “is not subordinated to interpretations of the law that could end up rewarding individuals who have committed serious violations.”

Faced with the stance of the majority of member states, the Council of Europe adopted yesterday a set of conclusions on the need to draft a political declaration on migration issues and the European Convention on Human Rights. The opening is clear: “The instrumentalisation of migration, smuggling of migrants, trafficking in human beings and other criminal activities that threaten stability and security are real challenges, and it is legitimate to address them,” said Secretary General Alain Berset. 

It will be the turn of the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers—composed of the foreign ministers of the 46 member states —to draft a draft political declaration taking into account the “fundamental responsibility of governments to protect essential national interests, such as security and public safety.” The aim is to adopt such a declaration at the next ministerial meeting on 15 May 2026 in Chișinău, Moldova.