Brussels: Europe and the Arabs

Today, Europe is taking another significant step in its fight against illegal immigration. The Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs has approved the Parliament's mandate for the new Returns Directive, a new law aimed at accelerating the return of migrants who do not have the right to remain in the European Union. According to a statement issued by the European People's Party (EPP) group in Brussels, a copy of which we received, François-Xavier Bellamy, the MEP who led the negotiations on behalf of Parliament, said: "People who do not have the right to remain in Europe must leave. An effective immigration policy is impossible if return decisions are not implemented."  

However, the Socialists and Democrats group negotiated constructively on this issue, seeking an agreement with other pro-European parties. These negotiations stalled due to an unnecessary delay, without sufficient progress being made on the guarantees demanded by the group. Instead, the European People’s Party (EPP) today presented an alternative compromise text in the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs, which was endorsed by the “Venezuelan majority” of the EPP, the European Conservatives and Reformists, the Party for Europe, and the European Security Network.

Ana Catarina Méndez, Vice-President of the Socialists and Democrats group, the second largest political group in the European Parliament, said:

“When I first announced this proposal a year ago, I said it would reveal our true position. Today, the moment of truth has arrived. The outcome clearly shows which political forces are willing to push Europe in a direction that threatens to undermine the principles upon which our Union is founded.

Returns are an integral part of an effective migration system, and enhanced cooperation at the EU level can make it more efficient, sustainable, and dignified.” But for the Socialists and Democrats, any migration policy must be firmly grounded in respect for fundamental rights. Protecting human dignity and the rights of asylum seekers are not optional; they are core European values. Unfortunately, these guarantees are not adequately reflected in this report. Even more worrying is the political alliance that made this outcome possible. The agreement reached between the European People’s Party and the far right sets a disturbing precedent. By relying on forces that openly defy democratic norms and humanitarian principles, this alliance risks undermining the very foundations that have guided Europe for decades. The Socialists and Democrats will continue to strongly support an effective and humane migration policy, one that adheres to the European values ​​of solidarity, dignity, and justice. Europe must embrace its principles, not abandon them.

Bellamy added: "This vote represents a real turning point. We are finally moving beyond the 2008 Returns Directive, which has not worked and has often restricted member states rather than helped them implement returns. The revision of this directive has been stalled for the past eight years, but this issue has now been resolved." Bellamy added: “The new rules will strengthen sanctions against those who do not cooperate with return procedures, prevent migrants from disappearing during the process, and expand the use of detention and entry bans when necessary. They should also establish a clear legal framework for return centers in third countries to make returns more effective, while allowing member states to prioritize voluntary returns. The European People’s Party promised to take back control of migration, and we are delivering on that promise.”

Thomas Toby, Vice-President of the European People’s Party Group and the European Parliament’s chief negotiator on the Global Compact for Migration, explained: “Without effective returns, the Global Compact for Migration cannot succeed.”

The European People’s Party Group is the largest political group in the European Parliament, with 187 members from all EU member states. Far-right parties in European countries welcomed this development. The Belgian Vlaams Belang party issued a statement titled "Breaking the European Siege: Stricter European Rules for Returning Illegal Immigrants." The statement read: "The European Parliament's Committee on Civil Liberties (LIBE) approved reforms to European rules for returning illegal immigrants on Monday evening. A new majority of the European People's Party, the European Conservatives and Reformists, the European Social Action Network, and the Patriots for Europe party—the parliamentary group in which Vlaams Belang collaborates with several other like-minded parties—reached a compromise that significantly tightens the return policy. Tom Vandendreich, Vlaams Belang leader in the European Parliament, said: 'This shows that our resistance is paying off.'" “With our pressure, we can indeed tighten immigration policy.” The compromise includes several measures aimed at making return policy more effective. For example, return orders will be enforced across the EU. Anyone receiving a deportation order in one member state will no longer be able to avoid it by simply traveling to another. Delaying returns through legal proceedings will also become more difficult, as appeals no longer automatically suspend the deportation order. Those forced to leave can no longer avoid it by traveling to another member state. Furthermore, the possibility of detaining individuals without a right of residence has been broadened to include those who abscond, fail to cooperate with the return process, or pose a security risk. The text also explicitly affirms the right of member states to criminalize illegal residence in their national legislation. “Those who remain here without a right of residence and do not cooperate with the return process should also be subject to sanctions,” says Vandendrich. This reform also increases pressure on countries of origin that refuse to take back their citizens. EU member states can make greater use of tools such as visa policy, trade relations, and cooperation. The development plan aims to enforce cooperation in return operations.

According to Vlaams Belang, this agreement is not the end goal, but a step forward. In the long term, the party believes the entire European migration framework needs a complete overhaul, so that effective migration management and viable return operations become central again, and are no longer hindered by a rigid interpretation of international obligations.

For Vandenderich, this vote also reveals a political contradiction. He says: “In the European Parliament, the groups to which the New Flemish Alliance (N-VA) and the Flemish Democratic Alliance (CD&V) belong vote with a majority that, along with us, is tightening migration policy. But in Belgium, they continue to defend the health cordon. This shows that their opposition to Vlaams Belang has nothing to do with principles, but stems from political cowardice.”

The Socialists and Democrats group stated: “Effectiveness, sustainability, and dignity – this is the criterion that the Socialists and Democrats set last year for the proposed return regulation.” Today, the Socialists and Democrats group in the European Parliament's Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) concluded that this criterion was not met and voted against the Parliament's draft report on the regulation.

The Return Regulation—proposed by the European Commission last spring—aims to harmonize return procedures across the EU to increase the effective return rate of people ordered to leave the EU. However, it proposes to achieve this by significantly curtailing the rights of those concerned and establishing return centers in third countries without any binding legal framework.