“Push-backs are simply not allowed. They are not in line with EU and international obligations. Member states cannot, shall not and should not carry out any push-back,” Michele Cercone, spokesperson for home affairs commissioner Cecilia Malmström, told EurActiv. He added that “Nobody coming or arriving to the EU territory and asking for asylum can be pushed back or can be denied this possibility.”
On November 15, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) released a statement urging EU members to rethink their refugee policies ,particularly the practices of barring entry and forcibly returning asylum-seekers.
The afforementioned statement, as well as the Commission's reaction, came after several reports by human rights groups pointing to illegal detentions and push-backs of Syrian asylum-seekers flocking to Greece and Bulgaria, by the countries' authorities.