In an effort to speed up the return of unauthorized migrants and to close the loophole under which requests for asylum can be made in more than one country, the European Commission on Tuesday put forward new proposals.
A few weeks ago, after complaints from several EU countries including Austria, EU leaders agreed to fortify their borders.
Noting that, currently, barely one in five unauthorized migrants are actually sent home Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson stressed that the 27 member countries of the EU must recognize decisions to deport migrants who enter without authorization made by any EU member and prevent unsuccessful applicants to then seek asylum in another EU country.
Speaking in Strasburg, Johansson described what she called a real abuse of the system in which people that have had a negative decision, a return decision issued in one member state after their asylum application was assessed, use loopholes that enables them to just abscond and turn up in another member state and start the process again.
Now, within the new measures, a new Schengen information system was activated last week to enable member states to insert an alert on a person with a return decision accompanied by additional personal information, including fingerprints.
The EC also considers detention as an option for refused asylum seekers, but only as a last resort to prevent them to abscond, mentioning other possible measures too, which include mandating them to regularly report to local authorities and surrender their identity documents.
They are also considering imposing increased trade tariffs and visa applications restriction for countries that refuse to take back migrants.
However, while seeking to remove unauthorized migrants who enter the EU and prevent illegal arrivals, Johansson also noted that efforts should also be made to encourage legal migration which is needed in the EU which is lacking labor forces in many areas.
