17 European countries call on the European Commission to submit a new legislative proposal for more effective returns
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.
On Friday 4 October 2024, a non-paper was sent to the European Commission to highlight the need for reforms for more effective returns. The non-paper was led by Austria and the Netherlands and has been supported by 12 EU Member States (Croatia, Czechia, Germany, Denmark, Greece, Finland, France, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, Slovakia and Sweden) plus three Schengen Associated Countries (Lichenstein, Norway and Switzerland).
The signatories call for a “paradigm shift in the return process towards obligations and duties for the third-country national subject to a return decision” and stress that "non-cooperation must have consequences and be sanctioned". They also call for a “new legal basis (…) in the form of a state-of-the-art legal framework that responds to real challenges and developments". They invite the Commission, in preparing the proposal, to consider a clear list of grounds for detention. They state that the new legislative framework “should render extensive interpretation by the CJEU unnecessary”.
The issue of returns will be discussed during the meeting of the Justice and Home Affairs Council that will take place on 10 October in Luxembourg.
For further details, please read the non-paper here.