Pushbacks at the EU’s external borders

22.6.2022

Question for written answer  E-002240/2022
to the Commission
Rule 138
Isabel Santos (S&D)

In a recent interview with Dutch newspaper de Volkskrant, the Commissioner for Promoting our European Way of Life, Margaritis Schinas, said that ‘there is virtually no concrete evidence of pushbacks’, once again putting the protection of the EU’s external borders ahead of the protection of lives.

Those statements demonstrate the Commission’s negligence with regard to the pushback problem, negligence which is also evident in the wrong path that a number of EU officials have followed in this area.

At a time when we are seeing a growing attempt from several Member States to normalise and even legalise pushbacks, I can only express my condemnation in the strongest possible terms of the clear breach of international law in the cases reported.

In connection with the above:

• 1.What steps are being taken to investigate the complaints of pushbacks properly?
• 2.What is being done at the EU’s external borders to ensure that international law, which bans practices of that kind, is being upheld?