The controversial EU return bill is set for a hasty approval on Wednesday (20 May) among European Commission, Parliament and Council, as national capitals demand long-term solutions for rejected asylum seekers.
The regulation foresees detention periods lasting over two years for people ordered to leave the bloc, and the creation of detention facilities in third-countries outside EU countries known as ‘return hubs’.
Among other unresolved issues ahead of Wednesday’s meeting is whether EU member states should enforce deportation orders issued by fellow member states, known as mutual return orders.
The European Parliament is pushing for the measure to take effect next year, while the Council, representing member states, is seeking a two-year delay.
“I have no understanding why we have to delay it for another two years with this enforcement of the return regulation, we need it now. We need it this summer,” said Manfred Weber, president of the centre-right European People’s Party (EPP), on Tuesday.
His own country, Germany, has in the past opposed the mandatory recognition of returns — given judges are likely to review return decisions issued by another member state, posing questions on their legality.
Other outstanding issues include possible lifetime bans on re-entering the EU, and the ‘return’ of migrants whose asylum decision has yet to be delivered.
Further disagreements concern the potential cooperation with foreign governments that are not recognised by any EU country, such as Afghanistan.
The proposed measures have also sparked comparisons with ICE-style operations, the controversial US paramilitary group, according to Reshad Jalali, a senior officer at the Brussels-based European Council on Refugees and Exiles (ECRE), an NGO.
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