EU Commission Proposes a Common European System for Returns

On 11 March the European Commission proposed a Common European System for Returns. According to the Commission, the proposal is “a new legal framework with the aim to have swifter, simpler and more effective return procedures across the European Union. Returns concern non-EU nationals who have no legal right to stay in the EU after having received a return decision in one of the EU Member States.” As the AP News reports, the proposal would allow for “return hubs” in third countries and generally increase deportations.

A group of EU-funded researchers issued a set of criticisms of the proposal that highlight how the proposal runs against important research findings. For example, the group highlights statistical distortions in the so-called “deportation gap”. In addition, they point out that research has “raise[d] concerns about the effectiveness and potential side effects of the ‘return hub’ concept.”

IE