Negotiators have reached an agreement on the EU’s long-awaited return regulation, paving the way for the creation of controversial ‘return centres’ outside the bloc as part of a wider overhaul of deportation rules.
Under the agreement, EU countries will be able to create return centers – facilities abroad where rejected asylum seekers and irregular migrants can be transferred before deportation – provided there is an agreement with a host country.
The breakthrough comes after weeks of negotiations collapsed last month over a dispute over when the new rules should take effect.
As part of the compromise, several key provisions will take effect immediately. These include the legal framework for return centres, the creation of a “European Return Order” designed to facilitate recognition of deportation decisions across EU countries – although participation will initially remain voluntary – and provisions aimed at strengthening the use of migration policy in the bloc’s external relations.
The rest of the regulation will be implemented one year after its official approval.
The implementation schedule emerged as a central sticking point in the talks. EU governments had requested a two-year delay, while the European Parliament demanded immediate implementation of the entire regulation.
“This historic agreement strengthens the credibility of the EU’s migration policy,” he said Nicholas Ioannidesthe deputy minister of migration of Cyprus, whose country currently holds the rotating presidency of the EU Council.
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The regulation was approved by the European Parliament in March with the support of centre-right, conservative, Eurosceptic and far-right lawmakers, highlighting the bloc’s increasingly restrictive approach to migration under the current Commission. The Socialists, Greens and Left Groups largely opposed the proposal.
“This is not just another piece of legislation, but the condition to regain control of migration policy in Europe,” said François-Xavier Bellamy, the European People’s Party’s chief negotiator on the dossier.
The negotiations were also marred by controversy after batch flow The exchanges appeared to show close coordination between the center-right EPP and populist and far-right groups, despite a pledge not to cooperate with them.
Magnus Brunner, the European Commissioner for Migration, welcomed the deal, describing it as another step in overhauling the bloc’s migration system. “This is what the citizens expect and this is what we are giving,” he said.
Mélissa Camara, the Greens’ chief negotiator on the file, condemned the deal and vowed to continue fighting it when it comes before Parliament’s plenary session.
The interim agreement still requires formal approval by the Council and Parliament before becoming law. A date for final approval has not yet been set.
(bw, cz)
