The LIBE Committee of the European Parliament has adopted an alternative compromise on the EU Return Directive with the votes of a new right-wing majority. Besides the ESN Group, the proposal was supported by EPP, ECR and PfE, marking a clear shift in one of the key migration files of this legislative term.
For the ESN Group, the members of the LIBE Committee are Mary Khan, Milan Uhrík and Ewa Zajączkowska-Hernik.
The vote represents a turning point in European migration policy. The previous policy of open borders is widely seen as having failed, and for the first time a right-wing majority has emerged in the European Parliament supporting a real change in migration policy.
The decision comes against the background of a system that has proven ineffective: currently, only around 20% of illegal migrants ordered to leave actually leave the EU. The adopted report aims to make returns faster, more effective and easier for member states to enforce.
Key measures include lifetime entry bans for individuals posing a threat to public security, trade sanctions against third countries refusing to take back their citizens, and extended detention possibilities to enforce returns. It also foresees medical age assessments and additional powers to search electronic devices to verify identity and origin.
With the vote in committee, the next phase now begins: negotiations with the Council and the Commission, where the adopted measures will have to be defended and further strengthened.
