Migration and Fundamental Rights Bulletin - 3/2026

On 30 July 2026, more than 72 000 people entered the city of Ceuta in the Spanish autonomous region from Morocco irregularly, according to a statement from the Spanish Minister of Interior. According to media reports, at least 88 people died while attempting to swim across the border and enter irregularly. Around 90–95 % of the people went back voluntarily to Morocco within 24–48 hours after their arrival, according to a statement from the Spanish government. Civil society organisations alleged that some of the returns amounted to summary returns without individual assessment, which the Spanish government denied. Media reported that protestors in Ceuta set fire to makeshift shelters of people who have remained in Ceuta. Further media reporting showed that on 18 September Spanish police fired rubber bullets into the air and struck people with batons as they began an operation to clear thousands of people ​off beaches and move some of them into temporary housing. The Spanish government informed FRA that only the minimum and strictly necessary deterrent measures were used in reaction to the large-scale arrivals.

Fundamental rights concerns include risks to the right to life, alleged unnecessary use of force against those arriving in Ceuta, inadequate reception conditions and child protection issues.

The Ministry of the Interior installed barriers and buoys at the Tarajal breakwater in Ceuta. This followed a Supreme Court ruling of 29 June 2026 which held that migrants intercepted while swimming towards Ceuta or Melilla could not be returned under the special ‘rejection at the border’ regime because, at sea, there was no physical border crossing point or border infrastructure where that procedure could lawfully be applied. The court found that this exceptional regime applies to persons attempting to cross the border by overcoming physical borders, such as fences. In the absence of such physical borders at sea, the authorities must use the ordinary return procedure with its procedural safeguards, including the possibility to request asylum. In response to the events, Spain also adopted measures which mobilise and coordinate national resources until 31 December 2026.

Italy temporarily reintroduced border controls with Spain during the month of September and 22 European leaders called for a coordinated EU response, as a briefing by the European Parliamentary Research Service describes. The Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs clarified that the large-scale arrivals in Ceuta did not compromise the integrity of the Schengen Area because Ceuta and Melilla operate under a specific Schengen regime. The two Spanish autonomous cities have a special status under EU law, which is part of the final act of Spain’s accession agreement, according to which anybody who leaves the autonomous cities by air or sea to reach Europe is subject to border checks.

In reaction to the temporary reintroduction of border controls between Italy and Spain, a group of academics and former EU Commissioners lodged a complaint with the European Commission, asking it to meet its supervisory obligations under the Schengen Borders Code.

During the reporting period, a new EU–UK agreement on Gibraltar removed land-border checks as of 15 July 2026.

The Greek National Commission for Human Rights identifies persistent fundamental rights concerns at Greece’s borders in its July 2026 annual Rule of Law Report on Greece, including alleged informal forced returns, shortcomings in access to asylum and non-refoulement violations, and gaps in accountability for human rights violations during border controls. Through its recording mechanism, it also documents repeated allegations of rights violations at borders. The 2025 report of the Greek National Commission for Human Rights, published in July 2026, documents 21 reports of violent summary returns, based on 23 personal testimonies collected between January 2023 and December 2025, involving at least 359 victims, including women, children and other vulnerable people.

On 30 June, the Greek Ombudsman published its annual report on the investigation of arbitrary incidents. It notes an increase in cases concerning violations of fundamental rights at the borders, from a total of seven cases in the previous year to 24 cases in 2025. These include cases of unlawful pushbacks, ill-treatment, shootings, and the capsizing and sinking of vessels.

Ahead of Greece’s Universal Periodic Review before the UN Human Rights Council, the review was informed by
Greece’s national report, an OHCHR compilation of information from UN human rights mechanisms, and a summary of submissions from other stakeholders. The OHCHR compilation raises concerns regarding alleged pushbacks, compliance with the principle of non-refoulement, the use of surveillance technologies in Closed Controlled Access Centres, and legal restrictions affecting the work of NGOs and other humanitarian actors.

The Border Violence Monitoring Network’s June report, Illegal pushbacks and border violence, published on 31 August, describes an increase in structural as well as verbal and physical violence in the Aegean. The Aegean Boat Report published photographs, videos and location data of 36 people who reached the Greek island of Giali on 2 August 2026. It reported that the same group was later rescued by the Turkish Coast Guard from two inflatable life rafts after allegedly being removed from Greek territory.

Concerning Cyprus, since July 2025 FRA has not received reports about excessive use of force or violations of the principle of non-refoulement during maritime border surveillance.

The situation at the land border between Finland and Russia has remained calm since Finland closed the crossing points on 15 December 2023. It remains closed until further notice and asylum applications cannot be lodged there. To FRA’s knowledge, no asylum applicant has approached that border in recent months.

On 3 September, Finland proposed extending the Border Security Act until 31 December 2028 to strengthen border security in light of potential instances of instrumentalisation of migrants. The Act allows the reception of applications for international protection to be temporarily restricted in a limited area at Finland’s national border and in its immediate vicinity. Its application requires a separate government decision. In addition, the Finnish Border Guard announced the completion of the 200-kilometre-long and 4.5 metre-high border fence with Russia.

EU Member States bordering Belarus continue to apply measures against incidents or threats of instrumentalisation of migrants and refugees, including alleged summary returns.

As of 28 September, in 2026, the Lithuanian State Border Guard prevented the irregular crossing of 1 637 people from Belarus.

Lithuania’s Supreme Administrative Court ruled that restricting a pregnant asylum seeker’s movement amounted to unlawful detention. Authorities had failed to assess her vulnerability or consider alternatives. The Court ordered her immediate release and a reassessment of her situation.

The media reported on 22 July that the Latvian army used tear gas and a warning shot against a group of at least five migrants who were trying to cross the border from Belarus and who were acting aggressively and throwing logs ⁠towards soldiers as they attempted to enter Latvia.

Poland extended the temporary restriction of the right to apply for international protection at the Belarus border in the case of instrumentalisation of migrants, with exceptions for vulnerable groups, from 18 September 2026 for a further 60 days. The restriction has been in place since March 2025. Poland also extended its buffer zone at the Belarus border for the ninth time. The Polish government reports that from the first half of 2025 and the first half of 2026, the number of attempts to irregularly cross the border with Belarus has decreased and is now 65 times lower than before. The number of successful crossings also decreased in the first half of 2026.