The first Return Coordinator of the EU was appointed after the announcement of the New EU Pact in March 2022 by the EU Commission. She was interestingly the head of ‘Vulnerability Assessment' Unit at the FRONTEX, and prior to that had been the First Officer at the Europol responsible for the security of major international events. The New Pact was introduced as a solution to create a fairer, efficient, and more sustainable migration to Europe in 2020. The aim was establishing a common approach to migration and asylum that prioritizes solidarity, responsibility, and respect for human rights.
However, migrants rights NGOs now claim that the proposed changes to migration and asylum system are deviating from the best human rights standards protected by the UN system, the European Court of Human Rights and the Fundamental Rights Agency for people on the move, i.e. potential asylum seekers. The proposals to be voted at the end of 2023 mean two things: more detention and faster deportation. Under the new Asylum Procedure Regulation, individuals whose applications are rejected based on another new Regulation called the Screening Regulation, would be directly send to return facilities. This takes us to the Greek example of pre-removal detention centers. While the formal deportation and return rates are steadily declining since 2018, it becomes irrational to adopt such a policy development in which there will be more unauthorized/irregularised people within the EU (Schengen)zone or most probably in detention. In the Greek case, although the readmissions to Turkey has been suspended since 2020, thousands of people continue to be detained and become stuck on the Hot Spots based on the notion of inadmissible application related to the safe third country concept (BVMN, September 2023). On the other hand, Turkey cannot be considered a safe third country for returns and readmissions according to the numerous human rights reports, such as the latest by the Medico International (August 2023).
There is a huge discrepancy between the new policy that will be put into place by the New Pact in early 2024 and the current reality on the ground regarding returns and readmissions. Looking at the Turkey-Greece readmissions, the cases of Italy, Malta and the North African countries as well as Libya regarding readmissions and returns, it is impossible to explain this manoeuvre of the EU with respect to human rights and for better migration management. The rationale behind this policy shift can only be explained by the political interests of some of the member states and the rising authoritarianism within the EU itself and the right-wing politics of its institutions.
This paper will look at these latest developments and analyze the New Pact with regard to third countries those deemed 'safe' for returns by taking the 2016 EU-Turkey Statement/Agreement as an example. The paper argues that the new changes the Pact brings will cause more pushbacks at the external borders and more people stuck in detention that will make returns less possible.
