Brussels: Europe and the Arabs

An agreement was announced in Brussels between the European Parliament and the Council, which represents the member states, on a regulation establishing a new common European system for returns. This system will apply to individuals whose asylum applications have been rejected, those who pose a security threat to EU countries, or those residing illegally.

The European Commission welcomed the agreement, stating: “The new rules on returns, proposed by the Commission in March 2025, are one of the key outcomes of the Commission’s policy directives and the European Strategy for Migration and Asylum Management. They are a fundamental element of the EU’s comprehensive approach to migration and complement the Pact on Asylum and Migration.”

The return regulation will provide member states with the necessary tools to make returns more efficient, through faster, simpler, and more effective procedures across the EU, while fully respecting fundamental rights.

The new common rules include:

A truly European system in the form of a regulation, with common procedures for issuing return decisions and a European return order, thus ending the current fragmentation at the EU level.

Mutual recognition of return decisions: Member States can now recognize and directly enforce a return decision issued by another Member State. Stricter rules on forced returns: These become mandatory when a person residing illegally poses a security risk, refuses to cooperate, flees to another Member State, or fails to leave the EU voluntarily within a specified timeframe. Simultaneously, the system encourages voluntary returns by strengthening assistance for return and reintegration.

Stronger rules to combat absconding: These include the possibility of requiring returnees to provide financial guarantees, submit periodic reports, or reside in a designated place.

Stricter rules for persons posing a security risk: These rules aim to facilitate their identification and return more quickly.

The system also allows for the establishment of return centers in third countries, where persons who are not legally entitled to remain in the EU and who have been issued return orders can be returned. To facilitate this, agreements or arrangements can be concluded with a third country that respects international human rights standards and principles in accordance with international law, including the principle of non-refoulement. Strong guarantees throughout the entire return process: All return measures must be carried out with full respect for fundamental and international human rights standards. In a statement issued in Brussels, the European People's Party (EPP) group, the largest political group in the European Parliament with 185 members from all EU member states, said: "Today, Europe has taken a significant step towards regaining control of migration, as Parliament and Member States have approved a new regulation on returns."

"The European system has long routinely ignored return orders," said François-Xavier Bellamy, MEP and EPP negotiator on this issue.

"Let's be clear: four out of five non-EU citizens who receive a formal return order from a Member State do not leave. This is not an effective system; it is a complete failure. Today, we are putting an end to this by facilitating returns, extending detention periods, eliminating the automatic suspension of appeals, and providing a legal framework for return centers in third countries. This is not just another piece of legislation; it is a prerequisite for regaining control of migration policy in Europe." The new regulation replaces the old 2008 Return Directive and gives member states stronger tools to enforce return decisions, including a new European Return Order that will facilitate the mutual recognition and enforcement of returns across Europe. The agreement strengthens commitments and increases the consequences of non-cooperation, introduces targeted measures for individuals who pose a security risk, reduces the risk of absconding, and ensures that the external dimension of return policy is an integral part of a comprehensive approach to migration, using all relevant EU policies and instruments, including visa, trade, and development policy, as leverage.

Bellamy added: “For years, Europe has sent the worst possible message: even if you don’t have the right to stay, nothing is likely to happen. That era is over. If you don’t have the right to stay in Europe, you will have to leave.” Thomas Tubi, MEP, Vice-President of the European People’s Party (EPP) Group, and the European Parliament’s chief negotiator on the Global Compact for Migration, said: “The EPP promised to take back control of migration. Today, we are delivering concrete rules with real consequences. With this new law, we are completing the final pillar of the Global Compact for Migration and giving Member States the tools they need to enforce migration laws. A migration system without effective returns is a system without credibility.”

The agreement will now be submitted to the European Parliament and EU Member States for formal approval.

Although the return rate is projected to rise to 28% in 2025 – the highest in the last ten years – the number of actual returns remains far too low, and the effectiveness of the return system needs to be improved. The new rules agreed today aim precisely to address this. They will help Member States increase the return of people who do not have a legal right to remain in the EU through simpler, faster, and more effective procedures.

In parallel, the Commission, in cooperation with Member States, continues to work with non-Member States to strengthen cooperation on readmission and returns. This includes the use of incentives, such as readmission instruments, funding tools, and visa and trade policies, as part of the EU's migration diplomacy efforts to engage with non-member states.