Migration and Fundamental Rights Bulletin - 3/2026
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In October, FRA published its 2026 update on EU-mandated migration-related fundamental rights monitoring and investigations in the field of asylum, borders and returns. FRA reiterates that the gaps regarding promptness and effectiveness of investigations into reported rights violations at the EU external borders lead to a perception of impunity, which risks undermining the rule of law, one of the fundamental values on which the Union is founded under Article 2 of the Treaty on European Union.
Based on data FRA could collect, between 2020 and 2025, judicial authorities in 12 EU Member States opened at least 322 preliminary criminal investigations. Only nine of them led to a conviction, eight in Hungary and one in Spain. All new convictions FRA recorded in 2025 are from Hungary.
Most investigations are discontinued at preliminary investigations stage. In FRA’s Guidance on investigating alleged ill-treatment at borders report, the agency acknowledges the challenges to investigate rights violations at borders, given that evidence for what may have happened is often scarce. Although FRA offers guidance to overcome evidentiary obstacles, two years later, systemic gaps hindering effective investigation of rights abuses at EU external borders remain.
The Greek National Commission for Human Rights identifies in its annual Rule of Law Report on Greece the lack of effective follow-up to the ECtHR judgement in A.R.E. v. Greece. In particular, it raises concerns about the authorities’ refusal to reopen the judicial investigation that had been archived despite the ECtHR finding violations. This raises doubt on Greece’s implementation of the judgment and on the effectiveness of accountability mechanisms for alleged ‘pushbacks’ from the Evros region to Türkiye. The concerns are echoed by the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers, which continues to supervise the execution of A.R.E. v. Greece under the enhanced procedure. In September, the Committee called for further measures to ensure effective investigations, access to remedies and safeguards against unlawful returns. Refugee Support Aegean and Stiftung PRO ASYL also submitted comments to the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers regarding the case.
The National Commission for Human Rights, in a July 2026 submission to the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers, described a recurring pattern concerning investigations, whereby cases remain pending for a prolonged time before being dismissed or archived. The Greek National Commission for Human Rights noted that no case has ever resulted in the identification of perpetrators.
In France, a judicial investigation in Mayotte concerning a 2019 maritime interception that resulted in a young migrant losing both legs was closed in June 2026 after almost seven years, with the Court of Cassation dismissing the case. While no criminal responsibility was established, elements emerging from the investigation pointed to certain dangerous interception techniques used by the police at sea, as well as shortcomings concerning the intervening vessel’s authorisation and crew qualifications.
In addition to criminal investigations, Member States have procedures for disciplinary investigations, which vary in objective and scope. They aim to sanction officers’ inappropriate conduct and to protect the reputation of law enforcement authorities. From 2020 to 2025, FRA counted 192 disciplinary investigations across 12 EU Member States. In 2025, most disciplinary investigations were opened in Greece and in Croatia. National authorities also reported new investigations in Latvia and Lithuania.
None of the investigations concluded in 2025 led to disciplinary sanctions. As a result, the situation remains unchanged compared to FRA’sInvestigating alleged ill-treatment at the European Unions' external borders – 2025 update. At the time, FRA reported that 13 disciplinary investigations resulted in sanctions: seven in Croatia and six in Hungary. Sanctions included demotions, termination of service (sometimes conditional or suspended), fines, a delay in promotion and reprimands. The breaches of conduct concerned, among other things, abuse of power, police brutality, unlawful confiscation of property, and assault.
The Frontex and the EUAA fundamental rights offices examine complaints against wrongful conduct by their respective agencies, as per Article 111 of Regulation (EU) 2019/1896 on the European Border and Coast Guard and Article 51 of Regulation (EU) 2021/2303 on the EU Asylum Agency, respectively.
As described in the EUAA fundamental rights officer’s 2025 Annual Report, the EUAA received 22 complaints in 2025. Out of them, only one complaint, relating to the EUAA operation in Greece, was admissible. Frontex registered 114 complaints in 2025, according to data from Frontex fundamental rights officer’s 2025 Annual Report.
Most complaints were inadmissible because the alleged breach did not occur within Frontex or EUAA operational activities. Nevertheless, some complaints raise serious fundamental rights issues, such as alleged ill-treatment or inadequate reception conditions, which remain unaddressed.
There are also gaps in the follow up to Frontex’s serious fundamental rights incident reports. In 2025, the Frontex fundamental rights officer launched 47 serious incident reports, according to its 2025 Annual Report. The most common allegations concerned ill-treatment, violations of the right to life, lack of access to asylum and collective expulsion. Since mid-2025, the Greek Ombudsman has intensified its cooperation with the Frontex fundamental rights office. According to the Ombudsman’s annual report on the investigation of arbitrary incidents, the Frontex fundamental rights officer has been notifying the Ombudsman of the launch and closure of serious incident reports concerning possible violations of fundamental rights at Greece’s borders.
As most alleged rights violations concern the conduct by national officers operating within Frontex operations, there is a need to ensure better follow up to the fundamental rights officers’ findings, including through appropriate investigations at the national level. A July 2026 policy study by academics on how to strengthen the fundamental rights toolbox of Frontex calls for independent investigations and enhanced powers to suspend Frontex operations when abuses occur.
Regarding the EUAA, the EU Ombudswoman reviewed a complaint concerning the EUAA (Case 229/2024/AML). She concluded in July 2026 that the agency had failed to ensure that caseworkers deployed in its asylum support teams in 2024 were prepared to properly conduct interviews with vulnerable asylum seekers. She recommended enhanced training for case workers, certain operational measures and an internal procedure to report mistakes in the conduct of asylum interviews and follow up on them. The EUAA has been working on an escalation mechanism to report violations by the host Member State to feed into the procedure in Article 18 (6) of the EUAA Regulation. To be effective, FRA considers that such a mechanism should envisage a substantial role for the EUAA fundamental rights officer at each key step.
