The new EU Return Coordinator, Mari Juritsch, who took office on 16 May, will chair a high-level meeting of the European Return Policy Network on 8 September, the European Commission announced on Tuesday 23 August.
Created by the ‘Pact on Migration and Asylum’ in September 2020, the function of the return coordinator aims to help Member States improve the enforcement of return decisions for irregular migrants. The meeting on 8 September will discuss the “coordination of return actions” between Member States.
The new coordinator, meanwhile, met last week with representatives of the Austrian government, which is preparing to launch advertising campaigns in sending countries to discourage departures to the EU, the Commission confirmed.
The Austrian government reported record levels of asylum applications (40,000 registered at the end of July, compared to 14,000 in July 2021) and wants to increase the number of voluntary returns.
On 4 August, Frontex announced the deployment of four experts to Austria to support the authorities in voluntary returns.
Link to Frontex announcement: https://aeur.eu/f/2sn (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)