EU proposed system to curb irregular migration risk human rights violations

To decrease irregular migration and expedite the return of individuals with rejected asylum applications, the European Commission has suggested a Common European System for Returns.

Return rates are currently about 20%, a level considered inadequate by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. The proposal suggests the potential creation of return hubs in third nations, dependent on arrangements made either jointly or at the European level.

Nonetheless, the execution and legal viability of these agreements are still intricate. The Italy-Albania agreement exemplifies this complexity. In 2023, Rome and Tirana signed a pact to establish two centers specifically designed for non-vulnerable asylum petitioners arriving from designated safe nations and retrieved from international shores.

Italian courts halted the process three times because of legal and constitutional issues. Subsequently, Rome chose to enhance the roles of these centers, which are now being utilized as return hubs for individuals with rejected asylum applications. Over 100 human rights organizations throughout Europe have cautioned that the externalization of migration approaches is expected to lead to serious human rights abuses.

Reports have revealed the shortcomings of a system designed to externalize the management of asylum seekers in Italy – a matter that is currently under scrutiny by the European Court of Justice. The lawyer representing Suffrerss argues that expedited processes for migrants deemed’ non-vulnerable’ from so-called’ safe countries” contravene the Italian Constitution.

From a human rights standpoint, holding someone in a third nation — currently Albania, but potentially Tunisia, Niger, or another location in the future — restricts their ability to exert essential rights.

Without collaboration, solutions remain unattainable

MEP Tomas Tobé, a proponent of the European draft regulation on returns and vice-head of the European People’s Party in the EU Parliament, clarified his stance on the Italy-Albania deal. He commented that the European proposal intends to operate return hubs exclusively for individuals whose asylum applications have been rejected, and he underlined the significance of association with non-EU third countries.

“I’m not suggesting this is simple. We do not select Europe’s neighboring countries. I receive considerable criticism from both the left and the far right, who argue against any form of cooperation. However, this approach does not lead to solutions,”

Tobé stated.

He emphasized that those granted asylum in Europe deserve protection and that negative decisions need to be carried out effectively.

In 2018, the European Commission ruled that return centres located outside the EU were illegal. Detractors contend that ideas previously linked to the far right are now gaining traction within mainstream EU policy.