Tomorrow is the presentation of the new European regulation on repatriations. The Commission introduces a so -called “European repatriation order” into the system which introduces the possibility of repatriation the people against whom a repatriation decree was issued to a country with which there is an agreement or an agreement, in essence deportation centers abroad for asylum seekers rejected.
It is not the first time that the European Commission tries to give a legal framework to the forced repatriation. The Junker Commission in 2018 also failed. As at the time, the proposal today also wants to eliminate legal barriers so that Member States can send asylum seekers rejected in another country without their consent. Similar initiatives have also been taken in the past in Australia with Papua or in the United Kingdom with Rwanda, failing to keep promises and imposing enormous costs for taxpayers. Still open is the question in Italy with the centers in Albania operational, but empty for the opposition of the courts.
A migrant center in Albania (Handle)
The new regulation provides that such an agreement must take into account any changes in the circumstances in the country where the repatriation hub is located. Unaccompanied minors and families with minors are excluded from repatriation.
There would be caveat compared to the arbitrariness of governments: in practice the possibility of repatriation irregular migrants to these countries should “guarantee respect for the fundamental rights of interested people” – reads the draft widespread regulation today – and in this case “an agreement or an agreement can only be concluded with a third country where the standards and international principles in the field of human rights are respected, in accordance with international law, including the principle of rejection “.
The commission’s move is part of a wider political push in Europe, where migration and kindergarten continue to galvanize the extreme right. Over the weekend, the winner of the German elections Friedrich Merz has announced the intention to expand borders controls, to significantly increase the number of rejections to the border and to “adopt all legal measures to reduce irregular immigration as a whole”.
The regulation is directly and compulsorily applicable by the individual Member States and provides a homogeneous picture of behavior to individual countries. “The current mosaic of 27 different national repatriation systems, each with its own approach and procedures, compromises the effectiveness of the repatriation at the EU level”, reads the introduction of the text.
An important novelty is the coding of the prohibition of entry into the EU territory for those who do not collaborate with the repatriation process, do not leave the Member State by the indicated date or move to another Member State without authorization. The ban – up to a maximum of ten years – also starts for those who place a risk of the safety of the EU countries.
The proposal will still have to go through the very long negotiation process between the Council and the European Parliament. It remains to be seen how it is inserted in the recent revision of the internal rules regarding asylum and EU migration.
