The NGO statement was published less than two weeks after European Commission (EC) President Ursula von der Leyen referred to “innovative strategies” in asylum and migration policy in a letter to EU leaders. In the letter, which she sent to EU heads of state and government in advance of European Council meeting on 27 June, Ms. von der Leyen wrote that “Many Member States are looking at innovative strategies to prevent irregular migration by tackling asylum applications further from the EU external border”.

In the joint statement, NGOs decry the EU and EU MS’ recent attempts to “evade their asylum responsibilities by outsourcing asylum processing and refugee protection” which they say “risk undermining the international protection system”. In a press release that accompanied the publication of the joint statement, Amnesty International European Institutions Office highlighted the risks of massive human rights violations that could result from the EU copying migration outsourcing schemes such as those implemented in Australia and, until recently, foreseen in the United Kingdom.

For further details, please read the press release from ECRE.