Migration: Council of Europe Refuses to Weaken the Convention on Human Rights, a Setback for Nine States

Italy and eight other EU countries are calling for more freedom to expel criminal foreigners. The Council of Europe warns against weakening the Convention on Human Rights.

The Council of Europe is not accepting the letter from Prime Minister Bart De Wever and eight other EU leaders. In that letter, they ask for a debate on the interpretation of the European Convention on Human Rights by the European Court. This would hinder the approach to illegal migration and crime. "Our task is not to weaken the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), but to keep it strong and relevant," says Alain Berset, the Secretary Gen…

The Secretary-General of the European Council (CoE), Alain Berset, rejected any weakness of the European Convention on Human Rights following the call by the new State, in front of Italy, to review its provisions with...

The Secretary-General of the Council of Europe Alain Berset rejected on Saturday 24 May any weakening of the European Convention on Human Rights. The previous day, nine states, led by Italy, called for a reinterpretation of the text on migration and criticized the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). The legal body was also defended by Alain Berset.

"Our role is to keep the Convention strong and relevant," said the Secretary-General of the intergovernmental organisation on Saturday. Nine European countries called on Thursday, in an open letter, to reinterpret the text on migration.

The Council of Europe on Saturday urged European governments not to undermine the European Convention on Human Rights after nine European Union (EU) states, including the Baltic states and Italy, called for a rethink on how to interpret the agreement, particularly on migration.