On 24 May Alain Berset, Secretary General of the Council of Europe, replied on to an open letter signed a few day before by the Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and other eight heads of government who criticised the European Court’s rulings that blocked them deporting and surveilling of foreigners they considered dangerous. These governments demanded that security matters be given precedence over human rights considerations when it comes to managing migration and called for a “new and open-minded conversation” about how the Court’s judges interpret the European Convention on Human Rights in cases related to migration.  

In his reply, the Secretary General, reminded that those nine Countries are “bound by a Convention they have freely signed and ratified. “It exists to protect the rights and values they committed to defend” he then continued. According to Berset “Upholding the independence and impartiality of the Court is our bedrock”. He agreed that “democracies must always remain open to reflection” and “debate is healthy, but politicizing the Court is not”.  He then concluded by saying that “as we face today’s complex challenges, our task is not to weaken the Convention, but to keep it strong and relevant”.