The issue of returning rejected
asylum seekers has caused heated debates in the European Union
for years. Many governments in the 27-nation bloc have
repeatedly called for stricter rules to return rejected migrants
faster to their country of origin.
A souring of public opinion on migration has fuelled hard-right
electoral gains in several EU countries, upping pressure on
governments to harden their stance.
Led by the governments of Sweden, Italy, Denmark and the
Netherlands, EU leaders called in October for urgent new
legislation to increase and speed up returns and for the
European Commission to assess "innovative" ways to counter
irregular migration.
On Tuesday, the Commission responded with new plans for tougher
deportation rules and stricter controls intended to accelerate
the return of rejected asylum seekers and other migrants who
don't have a right to remain in the EU.
According to the Commission, currently only around 20 percent of
people who are ordered to leave actually return to their country
of origin.
"With the new European return system, we will ensure that those
who have no right to stay in the EU are actually returned," EU
Migration Commissioner Magnus Brunner told a press conference in
Strasbourg. "This will significantly strengthen trust in our
common European asylum and migration system," he added.
Common deportation rules in the making
The set of measures is aimed at introducing common rules across
the bloc on how to process rejected asylum seekers and people
who overstay their visa, Brunner said.
Deportation orders issued by one EU country are to be
automatically recognised by other member states to avoid
repeating legal proceedings in different countries.
Under the proposal, the Commission is seeking to give EU
countries the possibility to sanction people who do not
co-operate with authorities by imposing financial penalties
through reducing or withholding benefits, confiscating identity
documents or imposing an entry ban.
Some MEPs have however warned the proposal lacks stronger
leverage on third countries to take deported migrants. According
to Czech MEP Nicola Bartůšek - whose Oath party is a member of
the far-right Patriots for Europe group in the European
Parliament - "the proposal is still too soft". She added that
the EU could put pressure on these countries using its visa
policy or the aid it pays to them.
Most controversial is the creation of "return hubs" outside the
EU where rejected migrants could be sent pending transfer home.
This is not possible at present as under EU rules migrants can
be transferred only to their country of origin or a country they
transited from, unless they agree otherwise.
The proposed regulation would allow EU countries to strike deals
with other nations to set up such centres. The move opens the
way to forms of externalisation of migration control procedures
and, in this sense, follows the direction of the protocol signed
between Italy and Albania.
The agreement, signed by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni
and her Albanian counterpart, Edi Rama, in Rome in November
2023, envisages that up to 3,000 migrants and refugees per month
who are still awaiting their asylum decision from Italy will be
housed in Albania.
The centres in Albania are meant to fast track the asylum
requests of (some) migrants. People with special needs such as
the elderly, children or pregnant women are excluded from the
deal.
However, EU officials say the proposed return hubs are a
fundamentally different concept - involving unsuccessful asylum
seekers rather than individuals seeking European protection.
Fraught with legal and ethical concerns, some experts say return
hubs are an expensive and impractical idea that is unlikely to
see large-scale uptake any time soon despite the Commission's
proposal.
Dr Marta Welander of the International Rescue Committee warned
the proposal was likely to result in "families being torn apart,
people being held in prison-like conditions" and a heightened
risk of rights violations.
"Keeping people deliberately out of sight and out of mind is not
a sustainable solution to Europe's migration challenges," she
said.
Irregular migration on the decline
Amid roaring demands from EU governments to crack down on
migration, figures show that irregular entries have in fact
already been on the decline in several countries.
Irregular border crossings detected into the EU were down 38
percent to 239,000 last year after an almost 10-year peak in
2023, according to EU border agency Frontex.
In Slovenia, the number of irregular border crossings decreased
significantly in 2024. Police have reported around 46,000 cases,
almost 25 percent less than in 2023.
Irregular migration across the Slovak border fell by more than
94 percent last year, according to a report on the activities of
the chief border commissioner of the Slovak Republic for 2024.
Croatian Interior Minister Davor Božinović said on Wednesday
that the country reduced irregular migrant entries by nearly 70
percent last year.
Media outlets and international non-governmental organisations
often accuse Croatia of alleged violent police pushbacks, during
which migrants were stripped of their documents, personal
belongings, and mobile phones. The government rejects these
allegations.
In Denmark, which has one of the strictest immigration policies
under prime minister Mette Frederiksen, 330 rejected asylum
seekers were in deportation status at the end of 2024, while
around 860 people were granted asylum last year.
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