The EU Member States, who will be meeting on 1 April in the ‘IMEX’ (Integration, Migration and Expulsion) working party, will have a first-ever exchange of views on the proposal for a regulation presented by the Commission on 11 March on strengthening the return policy on illegal third-country nationals (see EUROPE 13597/17).
The initial response to the proposal was positive among the 15 Member States, who last May called for innovative solutions and the possibility of creating ‘return hubs’ in third countries.
On 11 March, Sweden’s Minister for Migration, Johan Forssell, said that he was “initially satisfied with the move towards simplifying the processes and clarifying the returnee’s obligation to cooperate. I am also pleased that the proposal paves the way for the creation of return platforms as a complementary measure to increase returns”.
Other countries, such as France, have also welcomed the proposal, which is in line with their objectives, even if there are reservations about the feasibility of these ‘hubs’.
The principle of compulsory mutual recognition of return decisions made by Member States could be a problem for some, but the option chosen by the Commission to leave this mutual recognition voluntary at this stage and until 2027 is likely to reassure some countries.
On 1 April, the Member State experts will also discuss the implementation of the return border procedure, introduced by the new Asylum Procedures Regulation (APR) as part of the ‘Pact on Migration and Asylum’.
The Polish Presidency of the Council of the EU has prepared a note in which it points out that the return border procedure - effective in 2026 - applies to nationals whose application has been rejected under the asylum procedure at the border. It applies to applicants for international protection who arrive in an irregular manner and come from countries with a recognition rate of 20% or less than 20% or pose a security risk.
In 2024, nearly half of the applications for border asylum procedures were submitted by 37 nationalities with a low recognition rate, mainly citizens of Venezuela, Turkey, Colombia, Bangladesh, Peru, Egypt, Morocco, Pakistan, Nigeria, Georgia, Tunisia, Senegal and Algeria, explains the Presidency. These nationalities should therefore be among those most likely to be encountered in the return border procedure, which in principle automatically accompanies a refusal of an asylum application.
During this procedure, the nationals concerned must stay for a period not exceeding 12 weeks in places located at or near the external border, without being recognised as having entered EU territory. It is therefore “necessary that the Member State makes use of appropriate administrative and organisational resources”.
The Presidency also stresses the importance of providing adequate information to encourage voluntary returns.
It has prepared a number of questions to guide the discussions, in particular on the implementation of voluntary departure as part of the return border procedure, “bearing in mind that the deadline for voluntary departure must not give the third-country national the right to enter the territory of a Member State” and on the solutions (infrastructure, staff, IT system and organisation) for the future implementation of the return procedure at the border. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)