In an article in The Guardian, Apostolis Futiades described brutality against migrants as a norm on the chaotic EU borders, and saw an urgent need for an independent monitoring body to oversee a border control system steeped in allegations of violence.
Fotiadis, a freelance journalist who writes on migrant rights and ethnic conflict, said that the 2016 deal between the European Union and Turkey, and the closure of the Western Balkans, had curbed the massive influx of Syrian refugees into Europe.
And he added that the story did not end there, because in the years that followed, Europe's stubbornness on the issue of mass migration led to the restoration of the European Union countries, which are on the external borders of Europe, control of their borders through the use of violent force and breaking the law.
The EU's external border control agency is now a mixture of informal methods designed to bypass EU rules and international external borders, and the European Commission no longer has real oversight of what is going on.
Meanwhile, violence pervades the external borders in the form of dog chasing, beatings, torture, hasty removal and racial prejudice, rooted in a culture of police and border control that undermines the supposed moral foundations of European society.
Fotiadis believes that this month the Europeans have a good chance to do something better as the European Commission considers whether an independent border monitoring mechanism should be established.
In his view, this independent monitoring mechanism must be based on existing, truly independent national institutions that have the expertise and mandate to conduct such investigations.
He pointed out that the demand for an independent monitoring mechanism may seem inadequate or bureaucratic, and that it will not be a final solution to the crisis, yet he believes that the years spent in reporting on this matter have made clear that Europe needs a reliable body to restore the rule of law.
He said that the matter is not only about recording violations or defending human rights while holding the border police accountable, but also about stopping the political violation and turning migration into a weapon as an issue by the European Union and third-party countries.
This mechanism will help Europeans redraw the democratic boundaries by which executive power can be exercised.
Contrary to traditional thinking, a well-planned, independent and effective monitoring mechanism will benefit Member States and not work against their interests.
He concluded his article that this crisis lasted for a very long time and the Commission must stop turning a blind eye to what is happening, and it is time for the European Union Commissioner for Internal Affairs Elva Johansson to act.