Returns Regulation sets Europe on shameful path

Tonight, an agreement was reached between the Council and the Parliament on the Returns Regulation.

Mélissa Camara MEP, Greens/EFA shadow rapporteur for the Returns Regulation, comments:

"The agreement reached today between the Council and the European Parliament led by an EPP–far-right majority is shameful.

“This future text puts xenophobic ideas and rhetoric into writing at the expense of the fundamental rights of migrants whose only mistake was to be born with the wrong passport. The agreement legalises return hubs outside the European Union and gives a green light to the detention of minors and to lifetime entry bans without serious legal grounds. It also weakens procedural rights, extends lengths of detention and endorses ICE practices by allowing authorities to conduct home raids.

“Fundamental rights stand at the top of the hierarchy of norms; they cannot be casually trampled upon. We will keep on fighting to try to reject this text both in Parliament and in the Council.”