Today members of the European Parliament approved tougher EU return rules for illegal migrants with 418 votes for and 218 against.
Under the new rules, illegal immigrants will receive a formal return order and will generally be given up to 30 days to leave voluntarily.
Under the new regulation that will now apply identically across the bloc, a person without the right to stay gets a “return decision”, normally with a window of up to 30 days to leave voluntarily.
According to the text, individuals must cooperate with authorities by providing identification and travel documents, biometric information, and contact details. They will also be required not to conceal, destroy, or falsify documents, and must not evade authorities.
To prevent illegal migrants from circumventing deportation orders by moving between member states, the legislation introduces a new “European Return Order”.
The standardised order will be recorded in the EU’s Schengen information systems, allowing authorities in one member state to recognise and enforce a deportation decision issued by another without having to restart the whole expulsion process.
One of the most debated elements of the package is the creation of so-called “return hubs”.
The mechanism allows EU countries to conclude agreements with non-EU states to facilitate returns, including through dedicated facilities located outside the Union.
Migrants may be transferred to a third country that is not their country of origin, provided that country is bound by agreements requiring respect for fundamental rights and the principle of non-refoulement.
Reacting to the vote, German MEP Mary Khan said the legislation sends a strong signal that illegal migrants will no longer be able to obstruct deportation procedures indefinitely.
“For years, illegal migrants have been able to delay, evade, or actively obstruct their deportation. Today, we are sending a clear message: Anyone who is here illegally will not make Germany their home,” she told Brussels Signal.
“Through close cooperation with the EPP, ECR, and Patriots, the AfD has demonstrated what a right-wing majority can achieve. Only when the interests of citizens are once again placed first and the political firewall finally falls can Europe restore order, security, and control,” she added.
Renew MEP and lead negotiator Malik Azmani welcomed the result, describing it as the final missing piece of Europe’s migration system.
“People rightly expect that those with no right to stay return to their countries of origin,” Azmani said. “After almost 20 years of standstill, Europe finally has effective return measures.”
Not everyone is happy with the result of the vote. Criticism came from the Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Union (COMECE).
Its president, Mariano Crociata, warned that the legislation could weaken safeguards for vulnerable individuals and argued that migration policy must continue to place human dignity at its centre.
“Migration is not merely a matter of procedures, statistics or border management. It concerns human beings: women, men and children, each possessing an inviolable dignity that must remain at the centre of every policy decision,” said, COMECE President Mgr Mariano Crociata.
The next step is the formal adoption by the EU Council.
