The Council of Europe has shared concerns about return centers with Denmark, Germany, Austria, the Netherlands and Greece.
Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen (S) and Italy’s Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, have long worked closely together in the attempt to move asylum and migration processing outside Europe. In June, a major step was taken when the legal framework was put in place. 19 EU countries support the wish to establish reception and return centers outside Europe. (Archive photo). (Photo: © Emil Nicolai Helms, Ritzau Scanpix) 58 minutes ago.
Denmark is among the EU countries working hard to make return centers outside the EU a reality, but one should be extremely vigilant about whether human rights would be violated in that case.
This is according to a letter from the Council of Europe and its Commissioner for Human Rights, Michael O’Flaherty.
The letter has been sent to Denmark, Germany, Austria, the Netherlands and Greece, the Reuters news agency writes.
A majority in the European Parliament last month voted in favor of a return scheme which, among other things, paved the way for return centers outside the EU.
This gave the green light for Denmark and other countries to enter into agreements with third countries to house people who are not entitled to asylum and who do not have legal residence in Europe.
But according to the Council of Europe, the plans pose “significant risks to human rights, including ill-treatment and arbitrary detention”.
According to the Council of Europe, special measures should therefore be put in place to ensure that legal safeguards are upheld in the return centers.
---------------------------------------
The Prime Minister’s top priority
---------------------------------------
Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen (S) told Berlingske in June that her top priority in her third term as prime minister will be reception and return centers outside the EU’s borders.
“I would like to say to you that the single most concrete political thing I intend to engage in most as prime minister is that we get these centers outside Europe,” she told the newspaper. ( https://www.berlingske.dk/politik/ti-kilometer-over-europa-kom-mette-frederiksen-med-et-loefte-det-bliver-min-hovedprioritet-som-statsminister?gaa_at=eafs&gaa_n=AVngi4ieqwUwjgsA2ZX20I9InyIMYwR1kw7E2xFLNJuOHN-1zffPL72SDcdBLJf1Zp4%3D&gaa_ts=6a5bde84&gaa_sig=IuLdNoOsvwUcZ8wyyFQ_s3PfoDbPFqWbTqaKeCRMQTMRYtcMBimLw9jYyG702EnSBCi9LHDy01gphUSJfCatwQ%3D%3D )
Several parties in the European Parliament have expressed concern about legal standards and enforcement of international conventions in connection with the EU’s plans for a return regulation.
That concern has been dismissed by Minister for Immigration and Integration Morten Bødskov (S).
“EU projects of this nature of course comply with the conventions that must be complied with. There is no doubt about that. That is why I am pleased that there is broad support in the EU for the project,” Bødskov said on 18 June.
46 European countries are members of the Council of Europe. The council’s purpose is to monitor the state of democracy, the rule of law and the conditions for human rights in the member states.
The Council of Europe is headquartered in Strasbourg and is not part of the EU.
RITZAU
Facebook ( https://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=undefined )
Warning: This article was translated by a Large Language Model, in case of doubt, you can always visit the original source.