Brussels (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – European Commissioner for Migration Magnus Brunner in an interview said, the Brussels is preparing to overhaul the European Union’s deportation system in a bid to accelerate the return of refused asylum seekers and criminal migrants.
The agenda, expected to be revealed on March 11, aims to strengthen rules for migrants who refuse to collaborate with authorities, including setting “harsh consequences” for noncompliance, Brunner said.
In an interview with Welt am Sonntag, Brunner said,
“The outcome must be that when a return decision is issued, it is actually enforced.”
He is also pushing for tighter detention regulations for deportees deemed security risks.
“Dangerous individuals slip through the cracks and commit crimes,”
He stated in the interview.
“Rules for security risks must be significantly tougher — including detention to prevent them from disappearing before deportation.”
Why is the EU tightening detention rules for deportees?
According to experts, the action comes as migration remains a leading political priority for the EU. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, with the EU, is under pressure from EU countries to enhance enforcement coordination and constrain asylum rules.
Von der Leyen has made more stringent migration enforcement a critical focus of her second term. She backed policies to support EU border security, increase asylum procedures and enhance returns.
As reported, the European Commission is also examining offshore “return hubs” in third nations willing to receive deportees — a legally fraught notion reminiscent of the U.K.’s Rwanda asylum program and Italy’s Albania agreement.
The European Union has struggled to show such partnerships have struggled due to little collaboration from origin countries, persistent legal challenges, and situations over human rights violations.
The EU’s border agency, also known as Frontex, recorded a 38 percent decline in irregular arrivals last year, to the most inferior level since 2021 returns remaining slow. More than 480,000 third-country residents were ordered to exit the EU in 2023, but only one in five did so, according to Eurostat data.
