The Minister of the Interior, Bruno Retailleau, stressed, on Thursday October 10 in Luxembourg, that “don’t stray[ait] there is no a priori solution »He stressed regarding the transfer centers for illegal immigrants outside the European Union (EU). “All innovative solutions must be used”said about this proposal. The Minister, however, clarified that such a measure could not be applied to “asylum seekers” in France, on behalf of “constitutional order”.
EU interior ministers will meet in Luxembourg on Thursday for a working lunch to discuss this flammable proposal. Defended by Hungary or Italy, these “return centers” are just a simple way and not a concrete initiative at this stage. The debate is unlikely to be successful, according to diplomatic sources contacted by Agence France-Presse, but it illustrates the hardening tone on immigration in Europe, marked by the rise of the far right.
Pressure for a review of the “return directive”
These “centers” are inspired by the controversial agreement signed by the government of Giorgia Meloni, leader of the post-fascist party Fratelli d’Italia, with Albania, where two centers will receive immigrants detained in Italian waters. They also remember the plan abandoned by the United Kingdom to expel immigrants who arrived illegally in the United Kingdom in groups to Rwanda.
Immigration will also be on the agenda of the summit on October 17 and 18 in Brussels, where the heads of State and Government will have to address the strengthening of controls at the EU’s external borders and the acceleration of returns. At the legislative level, however, the issue seemed to be defined after the adoption, in mid-May, of the pact on migration and asylum, which strengthens controls and establishes a solidarity mechanism among the Twenty-seven to take into account the responsibility of applicants. of asylum.
In Luxembourg, Bruno Retailleau also called for the implementation “if possible in advance” a few months of the “Asylum and Migration Pact”, sealed in May and whose entry into force is scheduled for mid-2026. Many States are already pushing to go beyond this text: as soon as the pact was sealed, fifteen countries , including Greece and Italy, had called for an expulsion policy. “more efficient”WHO ” could “ include “mechanisms” of “centers” outside Europe.
In Luxembourg, Bruno Retailleau also insisted on the review of the 2008 “return directive”, European legislation that harmonizes the rules regarding deportation at borders. The French Minister accuses this text of making “almost impossible” migrant returns. He requested that it be reviewed “in the coming months”observing a “convergence” on the subject within the European Union.
In fact, several European countries are calling for such a review. A recent note from the Netherlands and Austria on the subject received support from Germany and France to ” ease “ AND “accelerate” come back. Earlier this week, nationalist Viktor Orban’s Hungary asked Brussels for an exemption from EU asylum rules, following in the Netherlands’ footsteps, although this procedure is unlikely to succeed.
According to Eurostat, in 2023, 484,160 third-country nationals were ordered to leave the EU and 91,465 (18.9%) were actually returned.
