Overview

• On May 22, Italy, Denmark and seven other EU governments published an open letter demanding a reinterpretation of the European Convention on Human Rights to let member states expel criminal foreign nationals more easily.
• Signatories include Austria, Belgium, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and the Czech Republic, representing a cross-section of Europe’s political landscape from right to center-left.
• The leaders argue that Strasbourg judges have extended the Convention’s scope beyond its original intent and imposed excessive limits on national migration and public-safety decisions.
• Council of Europe secretary-general Alain Berset warned that judicial bodies protecting fundamental rights must remain free from political pressure to preserve legal stability.
• In London, Conservative figures have signaled willingness to quit the ECHR to prevent human rights appeals from blocking deportations, a proposal backed by Nigel Farage’s Reform UK.