On Monday 10 March, several NGOs, as well as the S&D group, expressed their concerns about the Commission’s new legislative proposal to reform the Returns Directive, to be presented on 11 March.
At a time when the Commission has announced that it wants to tighten up the obligations of persons subject to a return decision, as well as sanctions, and that it could also go back on the suspensive effect of appeals or insist more on the use of forced returns, the S&D group said in a press release that the “returns policy will be a decisive test for the new Commission. Effective, sustainable and dignified: this is the test that the Socialist and Democrat Group has set for the EU’s proposals on migration which will be presented”.
“Several of the elements that have emerged in the past weeks and months show that the proposal approach is guided by the imperative of increasing deportation rates, mostly by derogating from fundamental rights guarantees. What we know for sure is that this proposal has been rushed through under political pressure, with no meaningful consultation of civil society or impact assessments”, deplored the NGOs Picum, Amnesty International, International Women Space and the Migrants’ Rights Network on 10 March.
This group of NGOs is also concerned about the possibility, expected and enshrined in the legislation - a regulation - of setting up return hubs in third countries, but for which the Member States would then be responsible for defining the boundaries on the basis of bilateral agreements in particular.
“We expect the Commission to use an even more euphemistic terminology in its proposal and communication, as they know how controversial this is”, stressed the NGOs, which also are concerned about the extension of the use of detention of migrants, very probably including children.
European Return Order. On Sunday 9 March, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, announced the creation of a ‘European Return Order’ to boost mutual recognition of return orders issued in the Member States. “We will propose common rules for returns - with a new European Return Decision and mutual recognition of return decisions by Member States. We want to put in place a truly European system for returns by proposing a regulation with simpler and clearer rules, preventing absconding and facilitating the returns of third-country nationals with no right to stay. Those who are forcibly returned, will be issued with an entry ban. And we will be stricter where there are security risks. We will be assertive, but we will also make sure that we will act in full respect of our obligations under international law and fundamental rights”, said the President. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)