The final interinstitutional negotiations (‘trilogues’) on the recast of the regulation on the return of irregular migrants are due to take place on Wednesday 20 May, ten days ahead of schedule, Agence Europe has learned from a source close to the matter.
The text currently before the European Parliament is based on the report by François-Xavier Bellamy (EPP, French), which won out over that of the lead rapporteur, Malik Azmani (Renew Europe, Dutch) in the parliamentary committee. In particular, it provides for the creation of a “European removal order” and the mutual recognition of removal decisions between Member States. It also proposes extending the maximum period of detention to 24 months and introducing lifetime bans on entering the EU.
The most recent discussions concerned cooperation with non-recognised third countries, in particular Afghanistan (see EUROPE 13854/8). Yesterday, the European Commission confirmed that Taliban officials would soon be invited to Brussels to facilitate the identification and readmission of Afghan nationals (see EUROPE 13867/24). (Original version in French by Justine Manaud)