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News > Belgium

European Union Pushes for 'Voluntary Return' of Immigrants

  • Migrants rescued by the humanitarian ship Ocean Viking, Mediterranean Sea, April 27, 2021.

    Migrants rescued by the humanitarian ship Ocean Viking, Mediterranean Sea, April 27, 2021. | Photo: EFE

Published 28 April 2021
Opinion

Its new policy tools include the creation of "return coordinators" and an enhanced mandate for the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex).

The European Commission (EC) on Tuesday adopted a strategy on voluntary return and reintegration in a bid to address the issue of illegal migration.

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The strategy sets out practical measures to strengthen the legal and operational framework for voluntary returns from Europe and transit countries, improve the quality of return and reintegration programs, establish better links with development initiatives, and strengthen cooperation with partner countries.

Its new tools include the creation of "return coordinators" and an enhanced mandate for the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex), which now becomes the new European Return Agency, on top of its current role of border management.

The strategy is "an important piece of the puzzle" when it comes to migration and asylum in the EU, said the EC Vice-President Margaritis Schinas.

So far, only a third of people with no right to stay in the EU return to their country of origin, and among those who do, fewer than 30 percent do so voluntarily, said the European Commissioner for Home Affairs, Ylva Johansson.

When it takes a long time to hear the final decision, it is more difficult for people to willingly return to their country of origin, according to Johansson.

"Voluntary returns are always the better option: they put the individual at the core, they are more effective and less costly," she said.

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