In the run-up to the vote in the European Parliament’s Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) on the return of irregular migrants – postponed to 9 March due to a lack of agreement between the rapporteurs (see EUROPE 13807/4) – negotiations remain difficult.
The final list of draft amendments was not disseminated until the evening of Wednesday 4 March by the lead rapporteur, Malik Azmani (Renew Europe, Dutch), who had decided to cancel a meeting scheduled for that very afternoon, provoking the displeasure of the shadow rapporteurs.
Consulted by Agence Europe, the draft amendments significantly tighten up expulsion procedures. While voluntary redundancy formally remains the priority, the ‘Azmani draft’ introduces a degree of flexibility that could render it null and void in many cases. The text stipulates that Member States “may reduce the period for voluntary departure to less than seven days or dispense with it altogether” if there is a “risk of absconding” or if the application for residence is deemed to be “manifestly unfounded or fraudulent”. This measure is designed to address the stagnation in the rate of effective returns, which is currently below 20%.
Return centres and mutual recognition. Among the most sensitive points in the document are the return hubs that are outside European territory. On this subject, the draft validates the enforcement of return decisions to transit third countries, subject to cooperation agreements. The document specifies that a Member State may designate a safe third country for the enforcement of the return, a provision which is in line with the position of the EU Council. More specifically, the text states that “the enforcement of a return decision shall not be suspended” by the lodging of an appeal, unless the relevant person can demonstrate an immediate risk of violation of the principle of non-refoulement.
With regard to mutual recognition, the document imposes an uncompromising level of automatic action: a return decision issued by a Member State “must be immediately recognised and take effect in any other Member State” where the migrant is located. The aim is to eliminate the legal loopholes that allow rejected asylum seekers to move between EU countries to delay their expulsion.
Retention procedures. The section on preventing people absconding will considerably tighten the retention criteria. The draft stipulates that detention is justified if the third-country national “hinders the preparation of their return or the removal process”, in particular by refusing to cooperate in obtaining travel documents. The maximum detention period is set at 18 months. The text also proposes to harmonise emergency border procedures, enabling cases to be processed in “less than 48 hours” for cases deemed to be a priority.
The alliance between Renew Europe and the right seems to be cemented around this hard line, despite the reservations of the left. If adopted, this draft package will constitute a potentially conflicting mandate for future trilogues with the EU Council, which takes a tougher stance on the subject and which, for its part, advocates a detention period of up to 24 months. (Original version in French by Justine Manaud)