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Position paper on instrumentalisation of migration - cover
Copyright FRA
23
July
2025

Countering the instrumentalisation of migrants and refugees and respecting fundamental rights

This position paper examines how the EU can counter the instrumentalisation of migrants while also upholding fundamental rights. Instrumentalisation refers to countries outside the EU using migration to exert political pressure. This position paper defines the phenomenon, provides examples, and outlines legal obligations under EU law. It provides legal analysis and warns that some responses risk undermining fundamental rights at the EU’s external borders, including the right to asylum. To counter instrumentalisation and uphold fundamental rights, the position paper proposes practical measures for Member States to take, such as sanctions, border controls, and cooperation with private operators.


Table 2 – Judicial investigations opened in 16 Member States from 2020 to 2024

This table lists the pending and closed national criminal investigations of alleged ill-treatment at borders between 1 January 2020 and 31 December 2024. Cases in which the judicial authority found no evidence to start an investigation are not included in the table.

 

Member State

Reply by judicial authority

Other replies

Number of cases

Number of convictions

Alleged conduct

(selected)

Bulgaria

civil society

4

0

excessive use of force and theft during apprehension and summary removal to Türkiye

Croatia

(in 2023)

Ministry of the Interior; civil society

18

0

torture; inhuman or degrading treatment; rape; robbery; unlawful deprivation of liberty; abuse of position of authority

Cyprus

UNHCR and civil society

0

0

Estonia

0

0

Finland

0

0

France

x

civil society

6

0

manslaughter and non-assistance to people in danger (drowning in the English Channel); ill-treatment and abandonment of people unable to protect themselves

Greece

x

Reply of the Greek authorities to the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights; Hellenic Police; Hellenic Coastguard; National Human Rights Commission

68

0

ill-treatment; physical injury; torture; rape; theft; homicide; illegal use of firearms

Italy

legal actors

1

0

negligent shipwreck; multiple negligent manslaughter

Latvia

Internal Security Office

2

0

unlawful confiscation of property

Lithuania

civil society

2

0

severe health impairment; abuse of authority

Malta

x

civil society

1

0

wilful homicide and attempted wilful homicide (delayed rescue)

Poland

x

civil society; border guards; police

5

0

causing damage to health; unintentional manslaughter

Romania

border police

3

0

abusive behaviour and theft

Slovakia

(in 2023)

0

0

Spain

x

Ministry of the Interior; civil society and open sources

4

1

homicide by gross negligence; denial of assistance; beating causing loss of vision; excessive use of force

Total

 

 

135

4

 

NB: The table includes only cases that FRA could identify and is therefore not comprehensive. FRA did not receive any new information for Malta, Slovakia and Spain. For Italy, FRA received a reply by its national liaison officer. For Croatia, some cases may have been counted twice, as FRA could not verify whether cases reported by the authorities and by civil society were the same. For Lithuania, FRA reassessed a 2022 case that was not covered in FRA’s 2024 report and included it in this update.
√ = FRA received information from prosecutorial or judicial authorities
x = FRA did not receive information from prosecutorial or judicial authorities
UNHCR = Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees

Source: FRA (2025), based on an exchange of information with prosecutorial or judicial authorities or publicly available sources.

Table 3 – Disciplinary investigations opened in 16 Member States from 2020 to 2024

This table provides an overview of national disciplinary investigations opened before the end of 2024. For Member States that did not reply, FRA included cases reported by other sources.

Member State

Reply to FRA request

Number of reported cases

Number of cases in which sanctions were imposed

Alleged conduct (selected)

Bulgaria

x

1 (*)

n/a

violent pushback

Croatia

20

7

police brutality; illegal confiscation of assets

Cyprus

0

0

Estonia

(in 2023)

0

0

Finland

1

0

pressure and threats in order to provide information

France

x

11 (*)

0

deliberate violence; exposure to risk of death or injury; insulting language

Greece

81

0

ill-treatment, torture, rape and theft during apprehension and summary removal to Türkiye; homicide; illegal use of firearms

Hungary

20

6

abuse; use of dogs against migrants

Italy

x

n/a

n/a

 

 

 

 

 

Latvia

3

0

Lithuania

4

0

unnecessary use of coercive measures; discrimination; abuse of power

Malta

x

n/a

n/a

Poland

13

0

harassment; misappropriation of personal belongings; causing damage to the health of migrants; unintentional manslaughter

Romania

5

0

abusive behaviour; physical aggression; theft

Slovakia

0

0

Spain

(in 2023)

2

0

physical injuries; assault

Total

 

161

13

 

NB: FRA did not receive any new information from Bulgaria, Estonia, France, Italy, Malta and Spain.
(*) = The cases were reported for FRA’s 2024 report by FRA’s multidisciplinary research network FRANET after consultations with national human rights bodies, organisations providing support or legal aid to refugees and migrants, and lawyers.

Source: FRA (2025), based on an exchange of information with enforcement bodies and ministries in charge of disciplinary investigations.