European Union member states can now rely on the new Pact on Migration and Asylum to prevent migrants from being used as a tool by hostile neighboring countries. This is stated in a report by the EU Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA), quoted by Agence France-Presse, BTA reports.
“Instead of punishing refugees used for political purposes, EU countries should target hostile actors“, said the agency's director, Sirpa Rautio.
The Vienna-based agency has analyzed how the European Union can deal with migratory pressure when it is deliberately used by countries to destabilize the bloc.
The report recalls that member states are legally obliged to register asylum applications, examine them individually and take into account the specific needs of those who submit them.
According to the AESOP, “migrants are often unaware that they are being used“, but the Union has the tools to deal with this “hybrid threat“, thanks to newly adopted legislation.
The proposed measures include:
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Limiting the issuance of visas to citizens of countries organizing migratory pressure;
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Revoking the licenses of transport companies with insufficient controls;
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Effective and rapid return of asylum seekers whose applications have been rejected, “within a few weeks“, to reduce the effect of political blackmail.
The Pact on Migration and Asylum, expected to enter into force by mid-2026, aims to speed up procedures. “This is essential for trust in the EU asylum system“, the agency notes, highlighting that currently less than 20% of deportation decisions are actually implemented.
The AESOP also warns that fundamental human rights are under threat due to the increasing “militarization“ of the EU's external borders. The management of defense is an exclusive competence of nation states, which makes it difficult to provide a harmonized response.
The report provides specific examples of controversial practices:
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Poland adopted a law allowing the military and police to use weapons at the border.
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Greece convicted 103 irregular migrants in 2020 after they were encouraged by Turkey to cross the border. The case also involved unaccompanied minors, leading to family separation.
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Lithuania is still maintaining a state of emergency, introduced after a Belarus-coordinated mass influx of migrants in 2021. Laws there prohibit illegal migrants from applying for asylum and provide for automatic detention - a measure that the Court of Justice of the EU declared to be in violation of European law in 2022.
Between 2023 and 2024, at least 60 people died on the EU-Belarus border, most of them from hypothermia. At the same time, humanitarian aid organizations are often subjected to intimidation by local authorities.
The AESOP report calls for a balance between security and human rights protection, emphasizing that migration policy must not lead to the criminalization of people in vulnerable situations.