The EU returns rejected asylum seekers
Ylva Johansson, a member of the European Union (EU) Commission responsible for internal affairs, held a joint press conference with Swedish Immigration Minister Maria Malmer Stenegard at the end of the first day of the informal meeting bringing together ministers within the EU countries. together in Stockholm, the capital of Sweden.
Emphasizing that 330,000 people entered the EU illegally last year, Johansson said: “In 2022, 924,000 asylum applications were registered in the EU. This is equivalent to 3 times the number of illegal entries into the EU”. saying.
Johansson stated that the majority are people who do not need international protection and that 60 percent think that their application will be negative.
The EU Commission official continued:
“People who come from countries where they don’t need international protection but have applied for asylum and used reception facilities are drowning in this. This means that many member states are really under pressure at the moment. We also host 4 million Ukrainian refugees.”
Noting that demand for readmission from countries of origin is low, Johansson said: “Request for readmission from countries of origin constitutes only 16 per cent of return decisions. It is important for member states to reach the country of origin to ensure that they can issue a travel document or accept an EU-issued travel document.” she made her assessment.
DEVELOPMENT OF COOPERATION WITH THIRD COUNTRIES
Swedish Immigration Minister Maria Malmer Stenegard said: “The reception capacity of many member states is under pressure and there are more refugees in many countries than in 2015 and 2016.” she said.
Emphasizing that one of the most important reasons for low readmission rates is weak cooperation with third countries, Stenegard said:
“One of the key tools to improve cooperation with third countries in the field of readmission is article 25. In accordance with this mechanism, the commission will regularly assess the level of cooperation of third countries in the field of readmission and present its report to the parliament. Consequently, countries will intensify their political and diplomatic efforts to achieve the desired results.
MAIN AGENDA OF THE EXTRAORDINARY SUMMIT IN FEBRUARY
An extraordinary summit of EU leaders will take place in Brussels on February 9 and 10 with the main migration agenda. In preparation for this, the EU Commission presented the operational strategy to the European Council on January 24, which would allow those whose asylum claims were rejected to be returned to their countries of origin. The strategy includes measures such as streamlining return procedures and digitizing the management of these procedures. (AA)