Report finds European return policy for irregular migrants ineffective – archyworldys

Actions “ relevant but which gave little results “ : this is the opinion formulated, Monday, September 13, by the European Court of Auditors on the subject of the return policy for irregular migrants or rejected asylum seekers. Since 2008, an average of 500,000 irregular migrants have been ordered to leave the territory of the Union each year. Only around 29% of them actually return to their country of origin, and this proportion drops to 19% for nationals from a state outside the European continent. Half leave voluntarily, the other half are subject to forced returns.

During the period 2014-2018, Moroccans (9,810), Iraqis (7,924) and Indians (7,480) were the most numerous to be returned each year. But, by way of comparison, respectively 23,287, 16,759 and 7,803 nationals of these countries did not leave the territory while they were staying there illegally. This was also the case for some 25,000 Afghans or 16,000 Algerians.

For the Court of Auditors, the Luxembourg-based institution responsible for monitoring the management of the European institutions and the use of their financial resources, this situation is all the more damaging as it encourages irregular migration. A situation that also fuels the discourse of populist forces who have made the theme of immigration one of their battle horses against Europe and certain governments.

Cooperation difficulties

The Court’s voluminous report notes that little progress in returns has been made since 2015 and the migration crisis. This is boring for the Commission which, by tabling its migration pact in September 2020, has made a stronger return policy one of the pillars of its project. Trying to involve more countries hostile to any reception of refugees and migrants, Brussels offers them to participate in the indispensable solidarity between the Twenty-Seven by taking an active part in these returns, which should, according to it, be accelerated and more numerous.

The current low rates are partly explained by the difficulty of cooperating with the countries of origin, but also by the lack of synergy between Member States. Most of them also have difficulty in identifying and locating illegal immigrants.

The Commission and the Council have started readmission negotiations with several countries, but since 2015 progress has been slow. Legal, operational or human rights issues complicate their application.

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