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The Council of the European Union has adopted a recommendation outlining a common framework for the gradual transition of displaced Ukrainians out of temporary protection. The measures aim to support sustainable return and reintegration in Ukraine when conditions allow, while also facilitating access to other residence statuses for those eligible. The recommendation provides guidance on voluntary return, reintegration support and information systems for displaced persons.
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Hoofdthema: Temporary protection, Return & Readmission
Trefwoorden: displaced person, Ukraine, residence permit, voluntary return, reintegration
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The European Commission’s proposed Return Regulation introduces measures to increase return rates across the EU. These include extended detention periods, returns to non-EU countries with no prior personal ties, offshore “return hubs”, and obligations for individuals subject to return orders. Over 200 civil society organisations have raised concerns about fundamental rights, legal uncertainty, and disproportionate impacts. They call on EU institutions to withdraw the proposal and reject it in its current form.
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Hoofdthema: Return & Readmission
Trefwoorden: return directive, return regulation, return hub, return rate, fundamental right, detention
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Eight officers from the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex) have started work at Brussels Airport to assist in return operations. They will operate alongside Belgian police to increase the number of returns. Their deployment follows the adoption of national legislation and a Royal Decree defining their powers and operational zones.
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Hoofdthema: Return & Readmission
Trefwoorden: forced return, Frontex, European Border and Coast Guard, Brussels Airport
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Fedasil is organising an exhibition on voluntary return and reintegration at the Wintercircus. The Ghent-based Magnum photographer Carl De Keyzer portrays the stories of, among others, Rosa from El Salvador and Igis from Albania. This exhibition is organised in collaboration with Caritas International and the International Organization for Migration, with the support of AMIF.
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Hoofdthema: Return & Readmission
Trefwoorden: voluntary return, reintegration, photo, exhibition
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The Belgian Council of Ministers has approved a draft law enabling home searches, with judicial authorisation, in cases involving non-cooperative foreign nationals facing return and posing a threat to public order or national security. The measure is similar to one previously discussed in 2018 and will now be submitted to the Council of State for its opinion. Several civil society organisations have expressed concerns about its implications.
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Hoofdthema: Return & Readmission
Trefwoorden: home search, forced return, public order, national security, immigration enforcement
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At their meeting on 13 June 2025, EU Home Affairs Ministers reached a political agreement to extend by one year, until March 2027, the temporary protection for people displaced from Ukraine. They also discussed ways to improve readmission cooperation with third countries and endorsed new priorities for the Schengen area.
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Hoofdthema: Temporary protection, Borders & Visa, Return & Readmission
Trefwoorden: Justice and Home Affairs Council, Ukraine, cooperation, third country, Schengen area
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Amnesty International and the Human Rights League are proposing a meeting with Françoise Tulkens, former judge and Vice-President of the European Court of Human Rights, and Manuela Cadelli, judge at the Court of First Instance of Namur, to examine the consequences of the letter from nine European authorities calling for a new interpretation of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).
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Hoofdthema: Return & Readmission
Trefwoorden: European Convention on Human Rights, European Court of Human Rights, judicial independence, fundamental right
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In response to a recent call by several European Heads of State to reinterpret the European Convention on Human Rights, six Belgian human rights institutions have voiced strong concerns. They warn that such initiatives risk undermining the authority and independence of the European Court of Human Rights. The institutions urge the Belgian federal government to remain consistent with its international commitments and to clearly reaffirm its support for the Court and the Convention.
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Backed by Italy and Denmark, a group of nine EU Member States has issued a letter calling for a new interpretation of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) to facilitate the expulsion of foreign nationals convicted of crimes. While the letter's authors frame it as a call for open discussion, the move has raised concerns over judicial independence and the protection of fundamental rights in Europe.
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Op 21 en 22 mei 2025 organiseerde de Return Expert Group van het Europees Migratienetwerk (EMN REG), in samenwerking met de Dienst Vreemdelingenzaken en EMN België, een tweedaagse workshop die 50 experten van EU-lidstaten, EU-agentschappen (waaronder Frontex en de EUAA), maatschappelijke organisaties en internationale organisaties samenbracht. Het evenement richtte zich op de ontwikkeling en implementatie van effectieve alternatieven voor detentie (ATD’s) binnen het migratie- en terugkeerbeleid van de EU.
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Hoofdthema: Kwetsbare groepen, Internationale bescherming, Migratie, Grenscontrole & Visa, Terugkeer & Readmissie
Trefwoorden: Nieuw Pact inzake Migratie en Asiel, alternatieven voor detentie, risico op onderduiken, fundamenteel recht, speciale behoeften, multistakeholder benadering, migrantenbetrokkenheid, naleving
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De Europese Commissie heeft een voorstel gepubliceerd voor een verordening tot instelling van een gemeenschappelijk systeem voor de terugkeer van onderdanen van derde landen die illegaal in de Europese Unie verblijven. De nieuwe regels introduceren onder andere strengere verplichtingen, en de wettelijke mogelijkheid om personen die illegaal in de EU verblijven en een definitief terugkeerbesluit hebben ontvangen, terug te sturen naar een terugkeercentrum in een derde land. Het Europees Parlement en de Raad van de EU moeten het voorstel nu bestuderen en erover onderhandelen.
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Hoofdthema: Terugkeer & Readmissie
Trefwoorden: terugkeer
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In 2024, 1.261 detainees were forcibly returned from Belgian prisons, down from 1.428 in 2023 and 1.511 in 2022, according to the Immigration Office. The most represented nationalities among those returned were Albanians, Moroccans, and Algerians. This decline comes amid ongoing challenges linked to prison overcrowding and changes in early-release policies.
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Hoofdthema: Return & Readmission
Trefwoorden: third country national, illegally staying person, detainee, prison, forced return
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The Benelux countries and Suriname have agreed to facilitate the return of individuals in irregular situations from the Benelux or Suriname to their country of origin. Additionally, they have decided to grant visa-free travel for diplomats and government officials between the Benelux countries and Suriname.
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Hoofdthema: Return & Readmission
Trefwoorden: Benelux, readmission agreement, Suriname
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In a position paper published on 6 February 2024, the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) sets out the conditions that would have to be met for return hubs to respect fundamental rights and comply with EU law. This includes independent monitoring to reduce the risks of fundamental rights violations.
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Hoofdthema: Return & Readmission
Trefwoorden: return hub, fundamental rights
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In 2024, Belgium saw a notable increase in the number of individuals choosing voluntary return to their country of origin. According to Fedasil’s press release from 3 February 2024, the total number of individuals opting for voluntary return rose by 11% compared to the previous year.
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Hoofdthema: Return & Readmission
Trefwoorden: voluntary return
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In a press release published on 27 January 2025, the Secretary of State for Asylum and Migration announced that Belgian authorities could organise the forced return of Afghans to Istanbul and that partners on the ground could then take them to Afghanistan. This collaboration and the budgets for it still need to be finalised by a new government.
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Hoofdthema: Return & Readmission
Trefwoorden: forced return, Afghanistan
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In its overview of national forced return monitoring systems across the EU in 2023, the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) noted that only one EU Member State did not monitor its national forced return operations in 2023. It also highlighted persistent challenges that affect the transparency and effectiveness of monitoring operations.
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Hoofdthema: Return & Readmission
Trefwoorden: forced return, monitoring
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De nationale conferentie van EMN Finland voor 2024 onderzoekt de stand van zaken en de toekomstperspectieven van de situatie van Oekraïners in Finland en in EU-landen. De conferentie richt zich op de uitdagingen van integratie in een situatie waarin personen die tijdelijke bescherming genieten zich tussen twee landen bevinden. De conferentie probeert deze personen te ondersteunen in het spanningsveld tussen integratie en terugkeer.
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Hoofdthema: Integratie, Tijdelijke bescherming, Terugkeer & Readmissie
Trefwoorden: Oekraïne
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In a recent judgment, the Court of Justice of the European Union found that an administrative authority which rejects an application for a residence permit based on national law and, consequently, finds that the third-country national concerned is staying illegally on the territory of the Member State in question, must ensure compliance with the principle of non-refoulement, by reviewing, in the light of that principle, the return decision previously adopted against that national in the context of a procedure for international protection.
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Hoofdthema: Return & Readmission
Trefwoorden: illegally staying person, return decision, non-refoulement, effective remedy
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A few days after 17 European countries called on the European Commission to submit a new legislative proposal for more effective returns, Justice and Home Affairs Ministers discussed the issue of return during a working lunch in Luxembourg. They tasked experts with starting to explore innovative ideas related to returns.
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Hoofdthema: Return & Readmission
Trefwoorden: effective return, irregularly staying third-country national, rejected asylum seekers
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In a non-paper, seventeen European countries called on the European Commission to submit a new proposal for more effective returns. The letter emphasises the need for a stricter EU return system with clearer obligations for cooperation from the returnees and less interpretation by the European Court of Justice.
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Hoofdthema: Return & Readmission
Trefwoorden: effective return
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De high-level EMN conferentie in kader van het Hongaarse voorzitterschap zal zich richten op mogelijke manieren om terugkeer effectiever en efficiënter te laten verlopen. Speciale aandacht zal gaan naar belangrijke aspecten van de terugkeerprocedure, interne samenhang, samenwerking met derde landen en digitalisering ter ondersteuning van het gemeenschappelijke EU-systeem voor terugkeer.
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Hoofdthema: Terugkeer & Readmissie
Trefwoorden: terugkeer, Terugkeer & Readmissie, vrijwillige terugkeer; re-integratie
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On 2 May 2024, the Chamber of Representatives adopted in plenary session the draft law for a proactive return policy. This law inter alia introduces the obligation for the foreigner to cooperate in the return process and it expands the pool of return escorts. The law also enshrines the principle according to which minor children aren't retained in closed centres.
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Hoofdthema: Return & Readmission
Trefwoorden: proactive return policy
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Op 26 april 2024 keurde de ministerraad, op voorstel van Staatssecretaris voor Asiel en Migratie Nicole de Moor en Staatssecretaris belast met de Regie der Gebouwen Mathieu Michel, de openbare aanbesteding goed voor twee nieuwe gesloten centra in Jabbeke en Jumet.
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Hoofdthema: Terugkeer & Readmissie
Trefwoorden: gesloten centrum, gedwongen terugkeer, staatssecretaris voor asiel en migratie
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A large delegation from the federal government, accompanied by senior police officers and senior administration officials, is leading a mission to Morocco. The fight against illegal immigration and the return policy are among the priority issues discussed with the Moroccan authorities.