New EU return rules officially adopted: A punitive approach to return will not be safe and dignified for the people concerned

New EU rules on return

Today, the new EU return rules have officially been adopted by the Council, the so-called Return Regulation that replaces the Return Directive.

The Return Regulation is to be implemented in all EU Member States. Despite of the Danish opt-out, Denmark is also expected to implement the Return Regulation.

During the negotiations on the Return Regulation, the legislators emphasized the need to make the return system more efficient and increase the return rates across the EU by increasing the use of force, sanctions, and detention. However, it remains questionable whether the agreed legal framework can achieve this.

Danish Refugee Council offers counselling to rejected asylum seekers in Denmark, and in our experience the use of sanctions and force does not support safe and dignified return.

The Return Regulation further creates the legal basis for EU Member States to make agreements with third countries about removing rejected asylum seekers to so-called "return hubs".

The regulation will apply from the day after adoption to enable the possibility of establishing return hubs. All other articles should be implemented a year after adoption.

Schemes aimed at externalising or outsourcing responsibility for return of rejected asylum seekers to third countries contain obvious risks of human rights violations, because they are characterised by the extensive use of force and detention. Return hubs thus risk becoming “zones of exemption”, where fundamental rights are not respected, and people cannot access necessary services.

Read more about DRC’s position on the new EU return rules: New EU rules on return