Kabul Times News | European Parliament approves new migration plan; accelerates deportations of migrants and establishes return centers outside the EU

The European Parliament approved on Wednesday a wide-ranging reform of the European Union’s migration policy; reforms designed to accelerate the deportation of migrants without the right to stay and strengthen mechanisms for returning them to their countries of origin or third countries.

According to the plan, EU member states will be allowed to establish migrant detention and processing centers outside the EU’s borders. However, the plan still requires final approval from the governments of the 27 EU member states to become an executive law.

The reforms are part of a process of changing Europe’s migration policies in recent years; a process that began after a massive wave of migration in 2015 and 2016, when more than a million refugees arrived in Europe, and is now moving towards stricter policies on immigration control and return of migrants.

EU officials say many member states face serious challenges in enforcing deportation decisions, especially for people whose asylum applications have been rejected or who remain in the EU after their visas have expired.

Under the Return Regulation, member states will have broader legal tools to enforce deportation decisions. The most important parts of the reforms include:

* Speeding up the process of examining and enforcing deportations
* The possibility of detaining people during the return process
* Broader cooperation with third countries to accept deported migrants
* The establishment of so-called “return” centers outside the EU

These centers could house people who are to be returned to their countries of origin.

In a letter to member state leaders ahead of the Brussels summit, the president of the European Commission said the reforms would provide the necessary tools to “make the return process more efficient and faster.” According to him, the main goal of the plan is to increase coordination between member states and reduce the time it takes to process immigration cases.

On the other hand, human rights organizations have warned about the consequences of these reforms. The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has stated that the process of “dehumanization of migrants and asylum seekers” in some countries, including European countries, has become a serious concern and could lead to violations of their fundamental rights.

Critics believe that the new laws may increase the detention of migrants, expand centers outside the EU borders and reduce legal protections for asylum seekers. There are also concerns about the possibility of returning people to countries where they face security and human rights threats.

Political analysts see the approval of the plan as a sign of the rise of anti-immigration trends in Europe over the past decade; a trend that has been strengthened along with the growth of right-wing and far-right parties in many European countries.

In another development related to migration policies, the European Commission last month invited Taliban government officials to discuss the process of returning Afghan migrants, a move that was widely criticized by human rights organizations.

Critics have warned that cooperation with the Taliban could jeopardize the security of Afghan migrants and conflict with the EU’s human rights principles. However, the European Commission and the Swedish government have emphasized that the talks are purely technical and do not mean recognition of the Taliban.

According to published information, the meeting is scheduled to be held on June 22 and 23, and its main focus will be to review the process of returning Afghan citizens who do not have the right to reside in European countries.

Experts believe that if these reforms are finally approved by member states, the structure of migration management in the European Union will undergo one of the most significant changes in recent years; a change that, on the one hand, aims to increase the efficiency of migration control, and on the other hand, is accompanied by serious human rights concerns.