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The management of migration and related security issues is one of the main challenges that European institutions are facing today. In this context, Denmark and Italy have played a key role in promoting a process of updating the Council of Europe’s conventional system; a process deemed necessary to effectively address contemporary dynamics. The recent approval by twenty-seven member states, on December 10th, of a joint declaration on the European Convention on Human Rights represents a key step in this process. The initiative, enthusiastically supported by both governments, expresses the need for a renewed balance between the protection of fundamental rights and the protection of public safety, especially in relation to expulsion decisions and procedures involving foreign nationals convicted of serious crimes.
THE JOINT DECLARATION AND THE ROLE OF THE TWO EUROPEAN LEADERS
The approval of the declaration during the Conference of Justice Ministers in Strasbourg marks a significant evolution in the Council of Europe’s approach to migration issues. Denmark, through its Prime Minister, emphasized the urgency of ensuring that persons convicted of serious crimes can be expelled from their national territory. According to the Danish position, certain jurisprudential interpretations of the European Convention on Human Rights have ultimately hindered such procedures, imposing limits deemed excessively restrictive with respect to the objective of protecting collective security. The Prime Minister insisted on the need to recalibrate the relationship between public interests and individual rights, emphasizing that adapting the current regulatory framework would contribute to increasing citizens’ sense of security. Italy welcomed the support received for the declaration, recognizing it as the consolidation of a diplomatic process initiated in previous months. The Prime Minister emphasized that her government has worked to strengthen the external dimension of European migration policies, promoting innovative solutions and placing the issue at the heart of the G7’s priorities. The broad support of member states was interpreted as a significant political signal, confirming the need to reinterpret the Convention in light of current challenges, without compromising its principles, but rather making its practical application more effective.
MIGRATION, SECURITY, AND THE NEED TO UPDATE THE CONVENTIONAL FRAMEWORK
The declaration approved in Strasbourg highlights the changing legal and social context where the application of the European Convention on Human Rights takes place. The central issue concerns the adequacy of existing legal instruments in regulating situations involving persons convicted of serious crimes and their residence on European soil. The concerns raised by Denmark and Italy relate to the difficulty, emerged in various national contexts, in proceeding with the expulsion of individuals deemed dangerous, due to the interpretation of the protections guaranteed by the Convention. The two European leaders believe that the system must be updated – while respecting its founding values – to enable states to intervene more effectively in matters of security. This approach does not aim to weaken the protection of fundamental rights, but rather to introduce greater clarity in defining the balance between public needs and individual rights. Specifically, the underlying idea is to ensure that the principle of collective security is not disproportionately subordinated to legal interpretations that risk producing effects contrary to the protection of the population. The approach expressed in the declaration, therefore, represents an attempt to reconcile individual freedoms and migration control policies, within the framework of the rule of law.
CONTINUITY WITH PREVIOUS INITIATIVES AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE DEBATE
The declaration approved by the Council of Europe builds on a process already initiated with the open letter on international conventions, promoted by Denmark and Italy in May 2025 and signed by nine member states. This document anticipated the concerns now shared by a much broader range of countries, proposing an initial discussion on the issue of adapting international standards to the complexity of contemporary migration. The growing consensus around these positions indicates a shift in perspective within the pan-European organization, which is increasingly sensitive to the need for legal instruments capable of reconciling individual rights and security. The debate launched in Strasbourg will continue in the coming months in collaboration with the Council of Europe, with the aim of consolidating a shared position that can be formalized at the Meeting of Foreign Ministers scheduled for May 2026 in Chisinau, Moldova. This deadline represents the moment toward which the various political and diplomatic initiatives launched by Italy and Denmark converge, with the aim of defining a new interpretative framework for the Convention capable of responding to the needs of an era characterized by rapid and complex migratory dynamics.
NEXT STEPS
The joint initiative by Denmark and Italy demonstrates how the issue of security and migration management has become a test case for the Council of Europe’s ability to update its regulatory instruments. The declaration approved in Strasbourg signals a widespread desire to reconsider the application of the European Convention on Human Rights in a context profoundly changed compared to the past. The leading role of the two countries, the broadening of the coalition of states in favour of a reform process, and the prospect of further consolidation of the debate in 2026 mark a crucial moment for the evolution of the European system of protection of fundamental rights and collective security.