EU Chief Push for Increased Migrant Deportations in Response to Influx

EU leader Ursula von der Leyen announced that the European Commission plans to introduce new regulations aimed at simplifying the deportation of irregular migrants.

In a correspondence to the member states prior to a meeting of EU leaders, where migration will be a key topic, She promised to implement rules that would “streamline the process of returns.”  She made these comments in a letter to member states ahead of the gathering in Brussels on Thursday and Friday, where she indicated that the European Commission would unveil a new legislative proposal to increase deportations of migrants.

Ursula von der Leyen, who has just begun her second five-year term as the head of the European Commission, seems to be reacting to migration pressures from across Europe. In her letter to EU member states, she mentioned that the current return rate for irregular migrants from EU countries stands at roughly 20%, indicating that most individuals ordered to leave an EU member state either remain or relocate to another country within the bloc.

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Von der Leyen wrote that the member states should all respect the decisions taken by other EU countries to ensure that, “migrants who have a return decision against them in one country cannot exploit cracks in the system to avoid return elsewhere.” 

Earlier this week, 16 men from Bangladesh and Egypt were relocated from the migrant hotspot of Lampedusa, situated off Sicily’s coast, to one of two specially designed centres on the Albanian shore where their asylum applications will be processed.  The centres, which incurred a cost of approximately €650m (£547m), were slated to open last spring but faced significant delays; they are funded by the Italian government and will be managed according to Italian law.  These facilities will accommodate migrants while their asylum requests are evaluated by Italy.  

Pregnant women, children, and vulnerable individuals will not be included in this initiative.

In recent weeks, Germany reinstated land border checks, the French government indicated that it would consider tightening immigration laws, and Poland announced a plan to temporarily suspend the right to asylum for individuals crossing its border.  

In France and Germany, horrific murders have led to demands for stricter immigration measures.  

A Syrian man who was a failed asylum seeker killed three people in Solingen, while a young student was murdered by a Moroccan national near Paris.  In both incidents, the assailants had been issued expulsion orders that had not been enacted.  Last month, 15 member states endorsed a proposal from Austria and the Netherlands to enhance the “efficiency” of the deportation system.