Kanko welcomes stronger Frontex: “More rejected asylum seekers must actually be returned”

In many cases, people who are required to leave Europe after their asylum applications have been rejected do not do so. Only 32% of rejected asylum seekers actually leave the EU. The European Commission wants to change this by significantly strengthening the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, Frontex. MEP Assita Kanko welcomes the plans. “This will finally enable Europe to effectively return more rejected asylum seekers in the longer term.”

Faster intervention during border crises

The European Commission wants to give Frontex more staff, resources and powers. The agency will therefore have a rapid intervention force capable of responding more quickly to major crises at the EU’s external borders, such as the events in Spain’s Ceuta.

A return reserve of 17,000 border officers will also be established. These officers will primarily continue working for their own Member States but may also be deployed elsewhere in Europe when necessary. Frontex will also receive additional resources to monitor social media and gather relevant information for border surveillance.

Return policy remains the Achilles’ heel

For Kanko, the expanded role of Frontex in return policy is a particularly important step forward. “Return policy remains the Achilles’ heel of European migration policy. Today, only 32% of all rejected asylum seekers actually leave the EU. That is far too few.”

The Commission therefore proposes establishing a dedicated return coordination centre within Frontex. This centre would bring together all relevant operational information and support the entire return process, including return operations from one third country to another.

Less bureaucracy, faster procedures

Kanko also supports the planned digitalisation of return and reintegration procedures. “Thanks to digitalisation, return procedures will hopefully become much smoother and faster in the longer term. This should significantly reduce the administrative burden.”

As the ECR The N-VA is a member of the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR), a conservative, eurorealistic parliamentary group in the European Parliament. The N-VA shares their realistic view of the European project and also advocates for the correct and intensive application of the subsidiarity principle. For example, we must not be afraid to ask ourselves if it would be better to leave certain European initiatives to the Member States. The N-VA also identifies with the emphases that the ECR places on the social-economic issues. Since the 2014 elections, the ECR has become the third largest parliamentary group in the European Parliament. ECR group’s coordinator in the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE), Kanko has contributed to the new European Return Regulation over the past few months. This regulation is intended to become a key component of the EU’s stricter migration policy.

The proposal to strengthen Frontex will now be discussed further in the European Parliament and the Council. Kanko will help negotiate the plans on behalf of the responsible LIBE Committee.