Communication on a more effective return policy in the European Union – a renewed action plan

On 9 September 2015, the Commission adopted the EU action plan on return, which included 36 concrete actions to improve the efficiency of the European Union's return system. Most of these actions are ongoing or have been implemented as presented in the Annex to this Communication. Despite this, the overall impact on the return track record across the European Union remained limited, showing that more resolute action is needed to bring measurable results in returning irregular migrants.

Since the adoption of the Action Plan, the challenges that the European Union's return policy needs to respond to have increased even more and brought this aspect of the EU comprehensive migration policy to the forefront. In 2015, the number of irregular migrants ordered to leave the European Union amounted to 533,395, compared to 470,080 in 2014. With around 2.6 million asylum applications in 2015/2016 alone, and considering that the first instance recognition rate stands at 57% in the first three quarters of 2016, Member States may have more than 1 million people to return once their asylum applications have been processed. At the same time, return rates at European Union level have not improved. While the total return rate from 2014 to 2015 increased from 41.8% to 42.5%, the rate of effective returns to third countries dropped from 36.6% to 36.4%. Moreover, if return to Western Balkans is disregarded, the European Union return rate drops further to 27%.

The key challenges of our return policy have always been both internal to the European Union and the Member States, as well as external. The Commission together with the European External Action Service and the Member States have tackled the external aspects through specific cooperation frameworks with third-countries. To this end, a Migration Partnership Framework was launched in June 2016 - a third progress report on this Framework was adopted on 2 March 2017.

An effective return policy starts within the European Union. In the European Council Conclusions of 20-21 October 2016, Member States called for reinforcing national administrative processes for returns. Moreover, the Malta Declaration of Heads of State or Government of 3 February 2017 highlighted the need to start a critical review of European Union return policy with an objective analysis of how the legal, operational, financial and practical tools available at Union and national level are applied. It is therefore necessary to look with pragmatism at the application of the Return Directive and address what does not work, including by encouraging Member States to make the necessary improvements in their national return systems to ensure better coordination and a multidisciplinary approach.

In addition, we must maximise the use of European Union financial or operational instruments, to create a collaborative space for exchanging information and for improving cooperation and coordination among Member States and EU competent bodies. Added to that, the new mandate of the European Border and Coast Guard (EBCG) Agency was significantly strengthened in order to provide better support to the Member States in conducting return activities whether jointly or nationally. The progress in the operationalisation of the new mandate is monitored in the second report on the European Border and Coast Guard, also adopted on 2 March 2017.

This Renewed Action Plan on Return with additional focussed actions to be implemented in parallel to the ongoing actions launched under the existing Action Plan is addressed to Member States, European Union Institutions and Agencies to substantially improve return rates. This also gives a renewed commitment to finalise the implementation of the 2015 Action Plan and will ensure measurable results in terms of preventing irregular migration and returning irregular migrants. To this end, the Commission is also adopting a Recommendation on making returns more effective when implementing the Return Directive.

ESO: Background information: Commission releases proposal revising EU return policy http://www.europeansources.info/record/commission-releases-proposal-revising-eu-return-policy/

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