On Wednesday 12 September, as part of its package of initiatives on migration (see EUROPE 12094), the European Commission proposed a targeted review of the “returns” directive, in particular to allow expedited procedures at borders, in this case quicker return procedures for persons whose request for asylum has failed, explained European Commissioner for Migrations Dimitris Avramopoulos.
This, to be precise, is a matter of amending the “returns” directive which took effect in 2010. “Despite the fact that efforts have been stepped up by member states and the EU to implement the existing returns policy, including the action plans of 2015 and 2017 and a recommendation of March 2017 presented by the Commission, application of the return procedures is not yet sufficiently effective”, the Commission explained. The effective rate of returns in the EU has fallen from 45.8% in 2016 to just 36% in 2017.
The Commission therefore proposes that simplified return procedures should be applied to people whose asylum request has been rejected during the procedure at borders. This means they will not be given a time for “voluntary” return but that they will be informed of the compulsory nature of their return immediately. Appeals against the return decisions should be submitted within five days and will be restricted to a single level of jurisdiction. Member states may limit the suspensive effect of the appeals against return decisions “when there is no risk of violation of the principle of non-refoulement”, it explains.
The Commission also wants to “toughen” the rules on the detention of people who are subject to the return decision. Detention is authorised in the EU when there is the risk that the person concerned will take flight, for example, and may last up to 18 months. In some countries, the Commission states, the duration of detention is too short and does not coincide with implementation of the returns decision. The Commission therefore proposes to fix minimal detention to at least three months.
All these proposals published on 12 September (on the European border guard agency, the asylum agency, legal migration, etc.) must fuel discussion by the leaders in Salzburg next week, the commissioner said, hoping that they will help them to forge compromises on the asylum package. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)