He pointed to the rate of failed asylum seekers who leave the bloc, which recent Eurostat figures put around 27 percent. “We must give the people the feeling back that we have control over what’s happening,” he said.
Under the deal, countries will be allowed to send people who’ve been ordered to leave EU territory to so-called “return hubs” outside the bloc — an option several EU countries are already exploring, but which civil society groups warn could open the door to more abuse and human rights violations.
The text also introduces stricter rules for dealing with people who are considered a security threat; the possibility of home searches; long detentions; entry bans; and penalties for those who don’t cooperate.
“For years, Europe sent the worst possible message: even if you had no right to stay, chances were high that nothing would happen. That era is ending. If you have no right to stay in Europe, you will have to leave,” French MEP François-Xavier Bellamy, who represented the center-right European People’s Party in the negotiations, said in a comment.
Parliament entered the negotiations with a position supported by the EPP, the right-wing European Conservatives and Reformists and the far-right Patriots and Europe of Sovereign Nations groups, despite opposition from lawmakers in liberal and left-wing groups.
Monday’s deal introduces a “legal arsenal serving a xenophobic ideology,” Greens negotiator Mélissa Camara said in a comment. The French MEP slammed the text for permitting hubs outside the European Union, the detention of minors, and “home visits inspired by ICE practices,” referring to the controversial U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency.