In his latest quarterly report, covering the period from 1 April to 30 June, the Commissioner highlighted his activities related to migration. The report refers in particular to the publication of a statement on restrictive changes to Austria’s asylum policy, which threaten the right to protection by establishing summary asylum procedures at the border. The Commissioner also examined migration and asylum issues on a visit to Croatia, which has witnessed more than 650,000 migrants transiting through the country over previous months. He will publish his report on this visit in October. During the reported quarter, the Commissioner also published an issue paper on migrant integration, focusing on family reunification, permanent residence, language and integration courses, access to the labour market and anti-discrimination policies.
Having received reports of new summary expulsions (pushbacks) of migrants in Ceuta, on 13 September Commissioner Muižnieks published a tweet in which he drew the Spanish authorities’ attention to his letter to the Minister of Interior of Spain, published last July, in which the authorities were urged to adopt a procedural framework to ensure that border police in Ceuta and Melilla have clear instructions on how to handle mixed migration flows in full compliance with human rights.