EU Commission reiterates position against illegal pushbacks

By Agnes Szucs

BRUSSELS (AA) – The European Commission reiterated on Thursday its stance against illegal pushback of asylum-seekers as it confirmed being in talks with Lithuanian authorities about the country’s controversial new migration law.

EU member states “must ensure that border protection is always carried out in full compliance with fundamental rights,” the European Commission’s spokesperson Anitta Hipper told reporters at the EU institution’s daily news briefing.

She said that the EU executive body is currently “in contact with the Lithuanian authorities to understand what are the implications of the new legislation.”

Hipper explained that the EU Commission will assess the controversial new legislation, but reconfirmed that according to the long-standing position of the EU, migrant pushbacks at the EU external borders are against EU and international law.

Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda signed earlier on Thursday amendments to the state border law that allows authorities to turn away irregular migrants in state emergency or state-level extreme situations.

The Lithuanian Interior Ministry claims that the law distinguishes between “natural migration” and “migration crises orchestrated by the Belarusian regime.”

But according to human rights watchdogs, the act legalizes the existing practice of pushback by border guards.

Amnesty International argues that the legislation “gives green light to torture.”