While the EU’s interior ministers will be meeting in Luxembourg on 10 October for a formal Council meeting devoted to the state of health of the Schengen area of free movement and the issue of returns of illegal immigrants to the EU, the Permanent Representatives of the Member States (Coreper) will already be invited, on Wednesday 2 October, to look at the latter subject and concrete innovative ways of stepping up returns.
According to a note of 30 September, the Hungarian Presidency of the EU Council, which has been holding regular discussions on the subject of returns since the beginning of September, will be asking Member States what they think of the ‘return hub concept’. This measure was envisaged by 15 Member States last May in a letter sent to the President of the Commission; they also mentioned the possibility of outsourcing asylum procedures, along the lines of what Italy is attempting to do in Albania.
The ‘return hub concept’ would involve sending back to third countries people who have been refused asylum in Member States and who would go through the return procedure (i.e. return to the country of origin, transit or another country) in this designated third country.
On Wednesday 2 October, the Hungarian Presidency will therefore ask Member States whether they consider that the future revision of the European framework on returns should contain “innovative solutions” and whether it would be appropriate to begin examining the feasibility of these innovative solutions at a technical level, “particularly the ‘return hub concept’”, states the note.
The Presidency also wants to ask Member States if they agree to start work at European level on the effective return of “criminals ” or people posing a security risk, at a time when several sordid incidents and even terrorist attacks have recently shaken Member States such as Germany and France.
According to one source, this discussion on 2 October could result in some form of ‘guidance’ for ministers and European leaders at the summit on 17 and 18 October, which could mark the launch of more concrete work on these new ways of improving returns.
In this note, the Hungarian Presidency states that the discussions so far have focused on three topics: revision of the current legislative framework, with a possible broadening of the definition of return to include return to a country other than the country of origin or transit (as already provided for in the Council’s 2019 mandate on the Return Directive, which is currently blocked), better application of existing tools and development of certain capacities (for example, enabling Frontex to carry out returns from third countries to other third countries) and the rapid return of people posing a security risk in the EU.
The Presidency explains, among other things, that while Member States have reiterated that non-refoulement and respect for legal standards are an essential component of returns, there seems to be an openness to reflecting on ways of returning these so-called ‘high-risk’ individuals based on individual assessments and with full respect for fundamental rights.
The note also refers to the necessary discussion with foreign ministers on the identification of safe areas in Syria, a task that could be entrusted to the IOM or the UNHCR. The issue of returns to Syria and Afghanistan could also be addressed at the European Summit, although the current situation in Lebanon could have a significant impact and change the nature of the debate.
This ‘return hub concept’ is “nothing more than window-dressing”, according to one source, and will be difficult to put into practice because “it will require the agreement of these third countries”. And if States “are unable to obtain laissez-passers now, they will be no more successful in the future in doing so from a third country or by subcontracting this task to third countries”, the source believes.
The question of the agreement of third countries is really the “trick question” of this concept and “it’s hard to see who might be interested”, says another source. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)