When Monitoring Fails: Independent Monitoring Mechanisms and Systemic Border Violence under the EU Migration Pact

In 2020, former EU Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson promised that the New Pact on Migration and Asylum would introduce an independent monitoring mechanism “to make sure that there are no pushbacks at the borders”.

And yet, the Pact delivers a mechanism with a severely limited scope, confined to screening centres, while systematically ignoring what evidence and testimonies have long shown: pushbacks by border police and state authorities occur overwhelmingly at green and blue borders, far from any formal procedure or facility.

The result is that the ongoing shame of EU border management remains largely unmonitored and unaccounted for putting thousands of lives at risk.

In this policy paper, we assess the limits and risks of the Independent Monitoring Mechanism proposed under the Pact. Using Greece as a case study, we examine existing national monitoring structures and expose the gaps and failures.

We put forward 13 concrete recommendations for a truly independent monitoring mechanism, one that goes beyond symbolism and actually ensures investigation, accountability, and the prevention of violations. As there is no real monitoring without accountability.