Men, women and children. At Europe’s external borders, they all face the risk of being forcibly pushed back across the border. These actions are known as pushbacks. A coalition of international human rights organisations is sounding the alarm in a new report on pushbacks in Europe.
Last week, the coalition published a report on the systematic and illegal pushbacks at the external borders of the European Union. According to the research, at least 80,865 illegal pushbacks took place in 2025. That amounts to an average of around 221 pushbacks per day. And, according to the researchers, that is still a conservative estimate. The actual number is likely to be much higher, as many pushbacks go unrecorded and often take place out of sight of organisations and in remote areas.
Most of the recorded pushbacks took place in Italy, with 27,116 cases, followed by Poland with 14,754, Bulgaria with 13,568 and Latvia with 12,046.
Testimonies reveal that men, women and children, including those in critical medical condition, are routinely mistreated, attacked by police dogs and robbed of their personal belongings. People are beaten and forced to remove their shoes and clothing before being sent back across the border.
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