EU countries demand the deportation of irregular migrants

2024-10-04 20:42:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Seventeen European countries called on the European Commission on Friday to tighten EU rules on returning irregular migrants to their countries of origin. This is learned from a document signed a week before the high-level meeting, where immigration is expected to be among the issues to be discussed.

The letter addressed to the bloc's executive body was signed by 14 of the 27 member countries, including Germany, France and Italy, as well as three other countries from the Schengen free movement area – Norway, Switzerland and Liechtenstein.

This development comes after the holding of several election processes across the EU, where the issue of immigration dominated, as well as growing demands from some parts of the continent for a stronger control system.

"The main message for the Commission, which we all agree on, is that we need a stronger system of repatriation, with clearer criteria and fewer interpretations by the European Court of Justice," said a diplomat from one of the signatory countries.

Signatory countries say the current rules leave too much room for interpretation, increasingly left to judges rather than elected governments, added the diplomat, who asked not to be named due to sensitivity of the subject.

The European Commission had no immediate comment, but immigration is expected to play a key role in Germany's parliamentary elections next year and the issue is expected to dominate the agenda of the new Commission, which is expected to take office in December.

Immigration is also expected to be high on the agenda of EU leaders meeting for talks on October 17-18, with Germany reimposing temporary border controls last month. French Prime Minister Michel Barnier said Paris would consider a similar measure.

Germany's ruling coalition has toughened its stance on immigration after a surge in migrant flows and support for the far-right opposition and conservatives.

CONTROL MEASURES

Last week, voters in Austria gave victory for the first time to the Freedom Party, which has anti-immigration, Eurosceptic and pro-Russia stances.

After decades of discussion, the European Union agreed on some new rules last year to share the costs and responsibilities of caring for migrants. The letter, whose contents were seen by the Reuters news agency, says that repatriation policies should be strengthened.

"Persons who do not have the right to stay, must bear responsibility", the letter states.

The letter calls on the European Commission to propose a new law that would make it clear that governments have the right to detain illegal immigrants who pose a risk to national security - an option that has been discussed since 2018 but has never been adopted .

The letter also calls for the digital harmonization of registered immigration cases so that all countries have the same computer program. This would help to identify and deal with the cases of the same migrants appearing in different EU countries.

The letter calls on the Commission to propose that immigrants have an obligation to cooperate with the authorities.

"It often happens now that repatriation procedures are interrupted, as people do not cooperate to be identified, or disappear completely from the radar, or make continuous appeals," said the European diplomat. /VOA