The EU’s recent proposals in the area of migration and asylum risk seriously undermining people’s access to fair and full asylum procedures in Europe. The European Commission’s recent initiatives appear to be interconnected components of a broader strategy to externalise the bloc’s migration management – these include its proposed revision to EU return or deportation rules put forward in March 2025, its April 2025 EU list of ‘safe countries of origin’ and a revision to the ‘safe third country’ concept in May 2025. With these measures the EU seems to be seeking to further shift responsibility for refugee protection onto countries outside its borders and sidestep legal obligations under the Refugee Convention and EU law.

We, the undersigned Egyptian, regional and international human rights organisations, are writing to provide input ahead of the negotiations on the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the EU’s €4 billion Macro-Financial Assistance (MFA) package to Egypt. Article 3 of the decision by the European Parliament and Council on granting MFA to Egypt states that: “The Commission… shall agree with the Egyptian authorities on clearly defined economic policy and financial conditions… to which the Union’s macro-financial assistance is to be subject, to be laid down in a Memorandum of Understanding…”. We recognize the EU’s objective of supporting Egypt’s economic stabilization, as reflected in the decision to provide this substantial assistance—the second-largest MFA operation after that granted to Ukraine. However, this decision marks a departure from the EU’s usual standards for recipient countries, which according to EU guidelines on MFA, include prior “respect for human rights and effective democratic mechanisms.” Notably, Article 2(1) of the aforementioned decision deviates from past practice and established guidelines by stating: “A pre-condition for granting the Union’s macro-financial assistance shall be that Egypt continues to make concrete and credible steps towards respecting effective democratic mechanisms – including a multi-party parliamentary system – and the rule of law and guarantees respect for human rights.” In addition, Article 4 (3.A) states: “The Commission shall decide on the release of the instalments subject to the fulfilment of the following conditions: (a) the pre-condition set out in Article 2(1).” Article 2(2) adds: “The Commission services and the European External Action Service shall monitor the fulfilment of this pre-condition throughout the life cycle of the Union’s macro-financial assistance.” We therefore urge the European Commission to ensure that this assistance strictly adheres to these conditions and advances socioeconomic rights by:

Ahead of the forthcoming discussions on Ukraine at the 26-27 June European Council, Amnesty International wrote to President Costa and EU Heads of state or government, urging them to use the European Council to agree on concerted EU action aimed at shaping diplomatic negotiations on Ukraine and to ensure that broader EU efforts in pursuit of a ‘just and lasting peace’ are firmly grounded in respect for international humanitarian and human rights law and a commitment to international justice and accountability.

Responding to the European Commission’s review of the EU-Israel Association Agreement which found ‘indications’ that Israel is breaching its human rights obligations, Eve Geddie the Director of Amnesty International’s European Institutions Office said:

The undersigned human rights and humanitarian organizations and trade unions urge the EU to ensure that the ongoing review of Israel’s compliance with article 2 of the EU-Israel Association Agreement be thorough, comprehensive, and credible.

On 27 May, EU Ministers will meet at the General Affairs Council (GAC) to hold yet another hearing on the situation in Hungary under Article 7.1 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU). In a joint open letter to EU ministers, Amnesty International and 5 other human rights organisations call for concrete EU action to address Hungary’s erosion of human rights and the rule of law.

In a joint open letter to President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen and Commissioner for Democracy, Justice, the Rule of Law, and Consumer Protection Michael McGrath, Amnesty International and 325 other civil society organisations raise the alarm on the new Hungarian bill entitled “Transparency of Public Life”, which would enable the government to target, defund and dissolve any organisation it designates as “a threat to Hungarian sovereignty”.

Reacting to the EU’s decision to initiate a review of Israel’s compliance with its obligations under international law under the EU-Israel Association Agreement, Eve Geddie the Director of Amnesty International’s European Institutions Office said:

Responding to the European Commission’s proposal to amend the ‘safe third country’ concept by allowing EU member states to forcibly send people seeking asylum to countries where they have no connection, without the possibility to appeal from the EU, Olivia Sundberg Diez, Amnesty International’s EU Advocate on Migration and Asylum, said:

Amnesty International is presenting this submission to the European Commission ahead of the preparation of its 2025 Enlargement Package. It details Amnesty International’s human rights concerns and outlines key recommendations that the EU should prioritize in the framework of Serbia’s EU accession process as well as any other ongoing engagement with the authorities. 

In an open letter to President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen and President of the European Council António Costa, Amnesty International and 57 other human rights organizations, media freedom groups, journalists’ organisations and representatives of the international legal community raise our profound concern over the extraordinary assault by the government of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on the right to political participation, the rule of law and human rights in Türkiye and call for an effective and robust response by the EU, its member states and its institutions.

In response to the European Commission’s call for evidence on ‘EU-India relations – new comprehensive strategic approach’, Amnesty International made the following submission.