The BBC said the Greek coastguard had been responsible for the terrible end for the undocumented migrants for three years, ‘some of them thrown overboard from the ships they were travelling on’.

We have just learned of the BBC’s investigation and the terrible allegations made,” said EU spokesman Eric Mamer at the EC’s daily press conference.

The Commission’s position is well known: migration must be addressed in a dignified and humane manner. Efficient border management must be firmly based on respect for fundamental rights, including human dignity and the principle of non-refoulement, he said.

His statements follow the approval in April of a reform of EU migration policy, which seeks to outline actions to tackle this phenomenon, amid strong criticism from the international community for the absence so far of a common position on the issue.

A report citing witnesses said the Greek coast guard killed dozens of migrants in the Mediterranean over three years, nine of them deliberately thrown into the water.

The Greek coastguard caused more than 40 deaths in those waters due to sea patrol practices that include forcibly removing boats with clandestine migrants or throwing them back into the sea after reaching the mainland.

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