Proposal for a Directive on common standards and procedures in Member States for returning illegally staying third-country nationals (recast)

Summary:

Legislative initiative - adopted by the European Commission in September 2018 - revising the so-called Return Directive, which aims at returning irregular migrants more effectively.

Further information:

Making returns more effective and stepping up the return rate throughout the European Union (EU) were pinpointed as priorities by the EU institutions throughout the years, as stated by the European Agenda on Migration, the EU Action Plan on Return and the Renewed Action Plan on Return. In June 2018, the European Council also underlined the need to step up the effective return of irregular migrants. Consequently, the European Commission put forward on 12 September 2018 a proposal revising Directive 2008/115/EC on common standards and procedures in Member States for returning illegally staying third-country nationals (the Return Directive).

The aim of the proposed recast Directive is to:

• Accelerate and simplify border procedures;
• Reduce the time limits for appeals and restrict the suspensive effect of appeals against return decisions;
• Oblige the Member States to set up voluntary return programmes and give them an option to shorten the period for voluntary return;
• Oblige persons subject to a return procedure to cooperate when verifying their identity and acquiring travel documents for the return;
• Introduce a new minimum detention period of at least three months.

The Council of the European Union reached an agreement on a partial general approach on 7 June 2019. Progress on this file in the European Parliament was affected by the 2019 EP elections and later by the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic.

Official

European Parliament: Legislative Observatory: Procedure File for Proposal on returning illegally staying third-country nationals (recast) (2018/0329(COD)) https://oeil.secure.europarl.europa.eu/oeil/popups/ficheprocedure.do?lang=en&reference=2018/0329(OLP)

European Parliament: Legislative Train Schedule: Proposal for a recast of the Directive on common standards and procedures in Member States for returning illegally staying third-country nationals http://www.europarl.europa.eu/legislative-train/theme-towards-a-new-policy-on-migration/file-proposal-for-a-recast-of-the-return-directive

Council of the European Union: Press Release, 07/06/2019: Migration policy: Council agrees partial negotiating position on return directive https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2019/06/07/migration-policy-council-agrees-partial-negotiating-position-on-return-directive/

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News

ECRE: News, 14/09/2018: European Commission releases proposal to recast Return Directive https://www.ecre.org/european-commission-releases-proposal-to-recast-return-directive/

EUObserver, 05/06/2019: Decision on migrant-returns hits parliament logjam https://euobserver.com/migration/145091

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Commentary and Analysis

EU Law Analysis, 12/09/2018: Lock ‘em up: the proposal to amend the EU’s Returns Directive http://eulawanalysis.blogspot.com/2018/09/lock-em-up-proposal-to-amend-eus.html

Migration Policy Institute, 10/01/2019: An 'Informal' Turn in the European Union’s Migrant Returns Policy towards Sub-Saharan Africa https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/eu-migrant-returns-policy-towards-sub-saharan-africa

University of London: RLI Blog, 29/05/2019: The Recast of the EU Returns Directive: Human Rights Lost Again? https://rli.blogs.sas.ac.uk/2019/05/29/the-recast-of-the-eu-returns-directive-human-rights-lost-again/

Statewatch: Analyses, September 2019: The revised Returns Directive: a dangerous attempt to step up deportations by restricting rights https://www.statewatch.org/media/documents/analyses/no-346-returns-directive.pdf

EU Migration Law Blog, 01/09/2020: Judicial dialogue about the Return Directive: Which role for courts in an era of executive governance? https://eumigrationlawblog.eu/judicial-dialogue-about-the-return-directive-which-role-for-courts-in-an-era-of-executive-governance/

EPRS: Briefing, March 2021: Recasting the Return Directive http://www.europarl.europa.eu/thinktank/en/document.html?reference=EPRS_BRI(2019)637901

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