EU ministers strengthen focus on returns amid decline in irregular arrivals

EU home affairs ministers have agreed to step up scrutiny of countries that fail to cooperate on migrant readmissions, while approving new return rules and examining internal border controls as migration and the future of the Schengen area dominated talks in Luxembourg.

The Justice and Home Affairs Council (1 October) gave its final approval to a regulation establishing a common system for returning third-country nationals with no legal right to stay in the EU. The legislation is intended to complement the Pact on Migration and Asylum and speed up returns while respecting fundamental rights.

O’Callaghan said Denmark and Ireland, which are not automatically included in JHA questions, are not taking part in adopting this regulation and are not bound by it or subject to its application, “Although they may seek to join in due course”.

Numbers of migrants are going down

“Around two in three people ordered to leave the EU do not actually leave,” Irish Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration Jim O’Callaghan said, describing effective returns as “crucial” to a common approach to migration management.

The new system introduces a European Return Order to make it easier for member states to recognise return decisions issued elsewhere in the EU. Mutual recognition will initially remain voluntary for now, but will be reassessed in three years time to examine a mandatory approach.

The rules permit member states to establish return hubs in non-EU countries, provided agreements comply with international human rights standards and the principle of non-refoulement, which prohibits countries from returning or expelling individuals to a territory where they face a genuine risk of persecution, torture, cruel or inhuman treatment, or threats to their life or freedom. Unaccompanied minors are excluded.

Ministers turned their attention to cooperation with countries of origin, discussing how the EU could make greater use of its available tools to encourage countries to readmit their nationals. O’Callaghan said there was “broad recognition” that the EU should make greater use of the tools at its disposal to encourage cooperation on returns, this could include instruments ranging from visa and development cooperation to trade measures.

Commissioner for Internal Affairs and Migration Magnus Brunner argued that recent migration reforms were already producing results, pointing to a reported 55% decline in irregular border crossings over two years. “This is not a small improvement,” he said, describing the change as “a real shift”.

Brunner said the next phase would include a stronger Frontex, more active cooperation with third countries and work on a European emergency response framework for situations in which mass movements are engineered or “weaponized” against the EU.

Schengen restrictions

O’Callaghan described free movement as the “great treasure” of Schengen membership and expressed hope that restrictions introduced in response to migration pressures would prove temporary. The minister was referring to the temporary internal border controls within the Schengen area introduced by several member states following the arrival of 72,000 people from Morocco in the Spanish city of Ceuta over the summer.

Brunner stressed that the Schengen Borders Code allows temporary internal controls when justified by security concerns or migration pressure. At the same time, he argued that falling irregular migration and stronger management of the external border should allow such measures to be gradually removed.

“We have to keep Schengen going and growing,” Brunner said, adding that the EU should work to “get rid of the border controls”. He pointed to member states that had already ended some checks and said the Commission would continue examining whether the legal conditions for remaining controls were satisfied.

Ministers also discussed ways to improve early warning and situational awareness at the EU’s external borders, alongside implementation of the Migration and Asylum Pact.

Photo: Vote in Council on establishing a common system for the return of third country nationals staying illegally in the EU © European Union

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