EU watchdog says new pact could deter weaponization of migrants
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Human rights experts warn these measures must not compromise fundamental protections for refugees.
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A Greek policeman gives instructions as migrants whose boat stalled at sea while crossing from Turkey to Greece approach the shore of the island of Lesbos, Greece, on Sunday, Sept. 20, 2015. (AP, File)
The European Union’s forthcoming migration pact may offer new tools to counter the manipulation of migrants by "hostile" foreign powers, the EU’s rights watchdog said Wednesday, while cautioning that fundamental protections must remain intact.
In a newly released position paper, the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) said the bloc has faced growing attempts by non-EU states to deliberately direct asylum seekers toward EU borders as a means of political coercion. The updated migration framework, set to take effect in mid-2026, is designed to bolster border security and streamline the return of individuals whose asylum claims are denied, all while maintaining legal safeguards.
“The effective and speedy implementation of return procedures, in full respect of applicable safeguards, may discourage the instrumentalisation of migrants and refugees,” the FRA report stated.
Going after actors, not victims
The agency urged member states to respond not by targeting displaced people themselves, but by imposing sanctions or visa restrictions on individuals and governments found to be weaponizing human suffering for political ends.
In its statement, the FRA made clear that retaliatory policies must be aimed squarely at the architects of instrumentalisation, not those caught in the crossfire.
“Instead of punishing migrants and refugees who are being used and abused for political gains, EU countries need to direct their measures towards the hostile actors,” said FRA Director Sirpa Rautio.
Wider context
Rautio also cautioned that some of the EU’s recent responses risk eroding the core principles of human rights law. “Some of the current responses to instrumentalisation may undermine the protection of fundamental rights at the EU’s borders, including the right to asylum,” she warned.
According to the agency, nearly 60 people died at the EU’s land border with Belarus between 2023 and 2024, many succumbing to hypothermia, trapped in no man’s land as geopolitical hostilities played out around them.
The new pact aims to provide EU states with the option to fast-track asylum procedures in the context of instrumentalization, deploying additional personnel and infrastructure to manage surges. Yet, the FRA stressed that urgency must not override legal obligations.
“Certain rights, such as the prohibition of torture or the principle of non-refoulement, prohibiting the return of individuals to countries where they face persecution, are absolute,” the report emphasized. “They cannot be limited under any circumstances.”
The paper marks one of the strongest statements to date from the EU’s own rights body, at a time when the bloc faces mounting pressure to reconcile border control with its legal and moral responsibilities. With elections on the horizon and far-right rhetoric gaining traction across Europe, how the pact is implemented may prove pivotal, not just for EU policy, but for its global standing.
