The European Commission wants to get a handle on the rising number of irregular migrants arriving to the European Union with a new strategy for deportations announced on Tuesday.
"Those that are not in need of international protection have to return to the country of origin," EU Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson said in Brussels.
In 2022 alone, more than 300,000 irregular migrants arrivals were recorded, Johansson said. The commissioner said the majority of these arrivals did not qualify for asylum.
An effective deportation strategy should "serve as a deterrent to help reduce unsafe and irregular migration," a commission statement said.
For years the EU has tried to increase deportation rates with limited success.
A plan announced in 2021 focused on voluntary returns. The bloc has also tried to leverage visa policies to put pressure on countries to take back rejected asylum seekers.
According to commission figures, however, only 29% of people who should have left the EU in 2019 did so. In 2021, this rate decreased to 21%.
The new strategy mainly involves greater cooperation between EU member states and EU agencies like Frontex, the bloc's border management agency, with faster decisions and greater data sharing.
The commission also wants to increase deportation rates with countries of origin that cooperate well with the EU and have "no political obstacles," Johansson said.
Johansson and Maria Juritsch, an EU Commission official coordinating deportation policy, declined to give fixed targets for deportations, citing the need to consult the EU member states and global uncertainty.
