On 11 March 2025, the European Commission released a proposal for a regulation to replace the current Return Directive, in force since 2008. In 2018, the Commission had already proposed a revision of the Directive, but no agreement could be reached. To address current challenges and to improve return rates, which currently stand at only 20% across the EU, the Commission is now putting forward a new proposal in the form of a Regulation that would be directly applicable in all EU countries.

The new rules include, inter alia:

• Common procedures for the issuance of return decisions and a European Return Order to be issued by Member States. 
   
• Mutual recognition of return decisions, allowing Member States to directly enforce return decisions issued by another Member State, with mandatory implementation expected from July 2027.
   
• Mandatory forced returns when a person illegally staying in the EU does not cooperate, absconds to another Member State, does not leave the EU by the given deadline for voluntary departure or is a security risk. 
   
• Explicit obligations for returnees to cooperate and clear consequences in case of non-cooperation.
   
• Safeguards throughout the return process, including the right to appeal, support for vulnerable individuals, and adherence to the principle of non-refoulement.
   
• Stricter rules to limit abuse and manage absconding, with the suspensive effect of return decisions no longer automatic, unless related to non-refoulement.
   
• Specific rules for individuals posing security risks, including early screening, mandatory forced return, longer entry bans, etc.
   
• Common procedure ensuring that return decisions are followed by readmission requests.
   
• Return hubs, allowing the return of individuals with a final return decision to a third country through bilateral or EU-level agreements, excluding families with minors and unaccompanied minors, with implementation subject to monitoring and adherence to human rights standards.

Several groups have voiced concerns about this proposal. PICUM stated that there has been "no meaningful consultation with civil society or impact assessments" and stressed that the proposal "opens the door for member states to set up deportation centres outside the EU", "turns forced returns into the default option for people found in an irregular situation" and "massively expands the use and duration of immigration detention". Amnesty International underlined that "today’s proposal lays the ground for states to send people to countries to which they have no connection, to languish in detention centres, with little credible guarantees that their rights will be upheld". It also added that "beyond return hubs, other aspects of the proposals are also deeply troubling, punitive and disproportionate." Vluchtelingenwerk Vlaanderen and 11.11.11 warned that "the EU aims to establish deportation camps outside the EU in practice, where people will be detained for long periods without any solution". While these organisations acknowledged that return rates from the EU are low, they underlined that "the establishment of 'return hubs' is a false solution" and called for sustainable solutions, particularly "creating attractive packages for voluntary return and offering legal migration channels through which we can reduce irregular stay".

For further details, please read the press release from the European Commission, the Questions & Answers or read the full proposal attached below.