Meijers Committee comment on the recast of the EU Return Directive

The European Commission’s intention to streamline and simplify the procedure is understandable and to be welcomed from a perspective of effectiveness, but simplification cannot lead to a reduction of existing procedural and substantive rights. In this comment, the Meijers Committee makes several recommendations for an effective return system that simultaneously safeguards and strengthens the fundamental rights of third-country nationals.

For instance, we recommend to maintain certain rules in the current Return Directive, such as safeguards pending return, and the requirement of a connection between the returnee and the receiving third country. We also advise to align with and supplement the new Pact, for example as to the appeal time limits, notification procedure in the AMMR, and the seamless link between asylum rejection and return. Finally, we provide recommendations for the obligations of the returnee, the voluntary return period, and the criteria for risk of absconding, and strongly suggest to harmonize procedural safeguards to overcome the current fragmentation across Member States.