Chain deportations from Italy, Austria, Slovenia and Croatia

Priority question for written answer  P-002171/2021
to the Commission
Rule 138
Bettina Vollath (S&D)

Italian and Slovenian courts have identified illegal deportations across the EU’s external border to Bosnia and Herzegovina, in which Italian, Slovenian and Croatian authorities have systematically worked together, with the Member States violating, inter alia, the prohibition of torture in the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, the principle of non-refoulement and the prohibition of collective expulsion. There is also an ongoing court case in Austria – within a period of only 48 hours, Austria, Slovenia and Croatia cooperated to forcibly transport the complainant across the EU’s external border to Bosnia and Herzegovina. Chain deportations from Austria via Hungary to Serbia have been reported by persons concerned.

Reports suggest that coordinated chain deportations from Italy have been carried out routinely since spring 2020 and from Austria since summer 2020 in cooperation with Slovenia and Croatia.

• 1.Since such illegal chain deportations by Member States have come to light, in which the persons concerned were handed over to other Member States without due legal process and were forcibly taken across the EU’s external border from there, has the Commission carried out an investigation and confronted the governments involved and, if so, what was the outcome?
• 2.What measures have been or will be taken by the Commission to stop the infringement of EU law in relation to chain deportations by Member States, what independent control mechanisms are already in place, and are infringement procedures planned against the Member States involved?