Nine EU countries, including Baltic states, urge rethink on European rights convention

ROME - Nine European Union (EU) countries, including the three Baltic states, published an open letter Thursday urging a rethink of how the European Convention of Human Rights is interpreted, especially on migration.

The letter has been signed by leaders of Austria, Belgium, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland.

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.

"We have to restore the right balance," the signatories said.

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.

Its provisions have to be followed by all 46 countries signed up to the convention, which includes all 27 EU member states, with the European Court of Human Rights issuing binding rulings.

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.

"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.

"Whether the Court, in some cases, has extended the scope of the Convention too far as compared with the original intentions behind the Convention, thus shifting the balance between the interests which should be protected.

"We believe that the development in the Court's interpretation has, in some cases, limited our ability to make political decisions in our own democracies."

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

Italian judges have repeatedly refused to sign off on the detention in Albania of migrants intercepted by Italian authorities at sea, referring legal questions to the European Court of Justice, which has yet to weigh in.