An agreement on the EU’s deportation bill was reached late on Monday (1 June) after a proposal to break the deadlock included suggestions that deportation hubs be launched immediately once the legislation enters into force.
It also insisted fundamental rights be immediately applied as well, posing questions about how abuse can be prevented when such hubs could entail prison-like facilities set up in countries outside Europe.
The proposal (seen by EUobserver ahead of the Monday talks) came after MEPs and representatives from EU states failed to reach an agreement last month on when to launch the law — an EU-wide regulation that promises to kick out unwanted migrants and rejected asylum seekers.
EU states at the time had agreed to launch the law at the earliest in July next year, after initially proposing a two-year delay, given the complexities of the legislation and amid a political push to also engage with the Taliban to step up deportations.
The rightwing-dominated European Parliament, on the other hand, wanted an immediate launch — but agreed on 1 January 2027 as a compromise.
Neither side budged — leading to a new negotiation round that came with ideas that were then discussed on Monday evening.
EU lawmakers had suggested member states immediately implement over a dozen articles in the regulation, while leaving others to be done at a later date.
The council, representing member states, came up with a counter proposal to instead launch some immediately, while others could come into effect a year later. The two sides late Monday agreed to the council’s compromise, also seen by EUobserver.
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Nikolaj Nielsen