The rate at which people who lack international protection are returned to their country of origin remains a key challenge for the European Union. The bloc continues to see very low success in removals. EU Immigration Commissioner Ylva Johansson noted that last year only about one in five individuals who did not qualify to stay were eligible for removal, a finding she described as a barrier that weakens trust in the system. As she presented a package of new recommendations to tighten border control and strengthen security, Brussels signaled a shift toward quicker, more reliable returns and a more coherent approach across member states.
Eurostat figures indicate that only 21 percent of the roughly 340,000 deportation orders issued two years ago were carried out. Half of the removals in recent years were driven by five member states: Germany, France, Italy, Cyprus and Sweden. Johansson emphasized that more can be done to reduce irregular arrivals and to increase the impact of return efforts. In a related step, an agency-managed flight was scheduled to depart for Bangladesh carrying a group of 68 individuals, illustrating ongoing enforcement activity in practice.
Brussels aims to close gaps in the system that allow migrants to exploit loopholes when it comes to returns. Mutual recognition of removal orders already exists, but uptake has been uneven because many countries lack reliable means to verify whether an individual has a deportation order. The inclusion of this mechanism helps address that gap as of March 7, and it is complemented by the Schengen Information System, which issues urgent alerts whenever an EU country chooses to return someone to a non-EU country. The Commission argues that this integrated approach will speed up the execution of returns across the whole Community territory.
Integrated border management
Johansson acknowledged that limited data complicates the picture. A person who has received a negative asylum decision and a return order can still disappear from one member state and reappear in another to restart the process. This kind of secondary movement undermines the system and can undermine the effectiveness of returns. The proposed reforms aim to clarify how secondary movements should be understood and to provide clearer tracking of what is happening. The plan for 2023-2027 centers on speeding up returns while strengthening coordination at both national and European levels.
Under the new multi-year strategy for integrated European border management, member states and Frontex will align border surveillance, counter-migrant-smuggling efforts, and procedures for protection against refoulement under a common framework of principles. The European Commission notes that Frontex will have six months to translate strategic recommendations into an operational and technical plan, with the twenty-seven member states given twelve months to adjust their national strategies accordingly. The aim is a unified, scalable approach that can adapt to evolving migration pressures while upholding the rule of law.
On extradition, the plan requires member states to report annually to the Commission on the number of mutually agreed return decisions achieved between states. Brussels is also expected to allocate resources from the immigration and integration fund and the border management instrument to support mutual recognition of decisions and the more capable deployment of border and coast guards. By channeling funding in this way, the Commission hopes to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of returns and the overall coherence of border management across Europe.