Following negotiations between the European Parliament, the European Commission and the European Council, the European Parliament has today approved the establishment of a European travel document for the return of failed asylum seekers and those who are no longer entitled to international protection.
Member of the European Parliament, Miriam Dalli, who negotiatied this legislation on behalf of the Socialists and Democrats, expressed her satisfaction over the approval and said that this vote should result in the establishment of a document to facilitate return that can be used both by Member States and be recognised by third countries. This document can be used in cases where a negative asylum decision has been taken and the person must be returned to their country of origin.
“At the moment, less than 40% of return decisions are being enforced. Unfortunately, this low return rate is detrimental to the legitimacy and credibility of the European Migration Policy” said Dr Dalli.
She explained how the current system has failed when it comes to returning failed asylum seekers to their countries of origin. Very often these persons remain within the European Union because they do not have the adequate documents recognised by third countries. Apart from this, the recognition rate of the current document is very low due to a lack of acceptance for diverse reasons, such as security reasons. For this reason a unified EU document using anti-falsification technology was established. The fact that a single document for all the 28 European member states has been established should now assist in the facilitation of the return of persons who do not, or no longer qualify for international protection while also assuring that third countries live up to their international obligations.
“It is satisfactory that through negotiations we managed to secure a high standard document which offers stronger security safeguards and assists in the return of failed asylum seekers and those whose status has come to an end in full respect of their fundamental rights” said the Maltese MEP.
Dr Dalli said that now it is up to the Member States to assure the effective use of the returns travel document and to promote the document throughout the EU’s bilateral agreements.
The MEP concluded by emphasising that “together with other pragmatic policies we can set the pace for the implementation of solid legislation which can start addressing the migration crisis we are currently facing.”