FALCON POWERS – Data from the European Union’s (Eurostat) statistical office on Friday showed that an increasing proportion of migrants forced to leave the bloc’s territory are being deported to countries outside it as part of efforts to control irregular migration.
Eurostat data indicates that the migrant deportation rate reached 29.5% in the first quarter of the current year, compared to around 21.6% in the same period of 2022. During the same period, the number of deportation orders issued increased by around 15%, while deportations under those orders increased by 58%.
A European Commission spokesman said “Under the new Return Roadmap, work is underway to support Member States in accelerating return procedures and facilitating reintegration”.
He added that “The increased use of mutual recognition of return decisions also helps speed up the process”, referring to agreements between EU countries and migrants’ countries of origin.
Since 2016, the 27-member European Union has concluded agreements with Mauritania, Tunisia, Turkey and most recently Egypt, as part of its efforts to curb irregular migration, a step that has been criticized by human rights groups for disregarding international humanitarian law.
Migration was a major issue in the European Parliament elections held from June 6-9, in which the nationalist right-wing made gains, set to shape the bloc’s future approach to various challenges, from geopolitical issues to migration. Antiimmigration rhetoric has increased at the EU level since the arrival of more than a million people – mostly Syrian refugees – across the Mediterranean in 2015, which shocked the union.
Unable to agree on how to share responsibility, EU countries have largely focused on reducing the number of arrivals.
