At the Strategic Committee on Immigration, Frontiers and Asylum (SCIFA) on 13 February, Member State experts discussed the strengthening of return policy, in particular via ‘return centres’ in third countries and the concept of ‘safe third countries’ (see EUROPE 13576/3, 13577/11).
In particular, this discussion was intended to feed into the legislative work that the European Commission is due to table on 11 March. According to one source, participants reiterated their positions on the concept of a “safe third country” and the notion of a personal link, which some fifteen countries want to abolish (to facilitate returns to a third country where a person who has been refused asylum in an EU country can apply for protection), in addition to ending the suspensive effect of appeals.
However, the discussion focused more on the external dimension and the factors that need to be taken into account in these third countries to be able to apply this ‘safe third country’ concept.
Regarding returns, the focus of the discussions was on the length of time that persons subject to a return decision were detained. A large number of countries expressed their desire to maintain the duration set out in the current directive (a maximum duration of 18 months), but would have liked an extension to be possible in specific cases. The issue of resources to administer longer periods of detention was also raised.
According to another source, the discussion “demonstrated the commitment that everybody was making – institutions and Member States – to seek innovative and effective solutions”, which always complied with the European regulatory framework and international standards. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)