ZAGREB, 21 Oct 2021 - The external borders of the European Union need to be protected, but without violence and by respecting human rights, EU Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson said in the European Parliament on Wednesday.

"Violence at our borders is never acceptable. Especially if it is structural and organized. We must protect our EU external borders while upholding fundamental rights. And it’s possible to do both," Johansson said during a plenary debate on violent pushbacks of migrants at the EU external borders.

The EU must protect its borders and must protect human rights, she stressed.

Earlier this month, several European media outlets published footage of violent pushbacks of migrants at the Croatian border with Bosnia and Herzegovina. Similar footage of pushbacks of migrants from Romania and Greece was also shown at the time.

Shortly after the publication of the footage, Croatian Minister of the Interior Davor Božinović said that the masked men shown in the footage were police officers, after which three policemen were suspended from duty.

Johansson said she had spoken with the Romanian, Greek, and Croatian ministers of the interior.

"The Croatian minister announced an investigation. Since then, Croatia’s national chief of police said that three policemen involved in violent pushbacks will face disciplinary proceedings. And I received assurances that any necessary follow-up action will be taken," she said and added: "It is the duty of national authorities to investigate allegations and follow-up any wrongdoing."

Anže Logar, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Slovenia, the current EU president, said that effective control of the external borders is key to preventing security risks, illegal border crossing, and possible migratory pressure.

All tools need to be used to monitor who enters the European Union, Logar said, adding that pushbacks must not be allowed on EU soil.

The Commission's views were criticized by Social Democrat, Green, and Liberal members of the European Parliament.

Children are freezing and dying at Europe's borders and your greatest concern is border protection and Schengen, Dutch Liberal MEP Sophia in 't Veld said.

German Social Democrat Birgit Sippel said that a systematic attack on human rights is taking place at the EU's external borders and that the footage from the Croatian, Romanian and Greek borders is a scandal for the EU.

On Wednesday, Sippel, together with the leader and deputy leader of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats group, Iratxe Garcia Perez and Simona Bonafé, sent a letter to the Commission president expressing concern about "the highly alarming systematic nature of pushbacks of vulnerable people, often involving violence."

The letter says that such practices are especially alarming in the Aegean Sea, at the EU's border with Belarus, and on the Western Balkan route.

"It is also alarming that the latest investigations suggest that parts of the material used to carry out pushbacks are seemingly paid for with EU money. This includes approximately €177 million that have been granted to Croatia for 'migration management between 2014 and today," the letter says.

The three MEPs said that requesting member states to investigate pushbacks is not enough, calling on the Commission to launch infringement procedures against Poland, Greece, and Croatia.

On the other hand, right-wing MEPs criticized the Commission for taking a soft stance, calling for putting up a razor-wire fence at the external borders.

I haven't heard anyone complaining about security checks in the European Parliament. Why wouldn't we better protect Europe with razor wire and armed personnel to ensure security? said Danish MEP Petar Kofod, a member of the Identity and Democracy group.

Croatian MEP Karlo Ressler (EPP/HDZ) said that people trafficking is one of the most profitable criminal activities and "an instrument of perfidious pressure on Europe."

He said that the EU urgently needs a common response in which the policy of preventing illegal migration has no alternative. He, however, noted that there is no room for violence against migrants in Europe and that any individual violation of human rights, especially the human rights of the most vulnerable groups, is totally unacceptable.

Ressler said that Croatia, with a modernized police force and without erecting razor wire fences, is performing its legal obligation and duty to protect its own border and the border of the European Union.

Sunčana Glavak (EPP/HDZ) said that the Croatian police are doing an excellent job in protecting the territory of Croatia and the EU.

She pointed out that Croatia has so far arrested over 3,000 people traffickers at the border and prevented 30,000 attempts at crossing its border illegally.

"Dear colleagues, the Republic of Croatia is guarding your border too, the border of the European Union, in a legal way," she concluded.

For more about politics in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.