Italy, other EU states urge rethink on rights convention

ROME

Italy's Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni (L) welcomes Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen at Palazzo Chigi prior their meeting in Rome on May 22, 2025.

Italy and eight other EU states, including Denmark and Poland, published an open letter, urging a rethink of how the European Convention of Human Rights is interpreted, especially on migration.

The countries said they want "a new and open minded conversation about the interpretation of the European Convention on Human Rights", according to the text, released by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's office on May 22.

The convention, which came into force in 1953, covers the right to life; a ban on slavery, torture and degrading treatment; freedom of expression; a prohibition on discrimination; and the right to family life.

The letter urging a review of its application was made public following a meeting in Rome between Meloni and Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, both of whom have taken a hardline stance on migration.

It was also signed by the leaders of Austria, Belgium, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and the Czech Republic.

"We belong to different political families and hail from different political traditions," they said. Yet all agreed it was "necessary to start a discussion about how the international conventions match the challenges that we face today."

"We also believe that there is a need to look at how the European Court of Human Rights has developed its interpretation of the European Convention on Human Rights," the letter said.

Meloni's hard-right government has vowed to cut irregular migration, but its flagship policy to operate migrant centres in Albania has hit a series of legal roadblocks and delays.