The European Parliament has taken a major step toward stricter migration control, approving the new EU Return Regulation aimed at curbing illegal migration. The package passed today in Brussels with a 389 to 206 vote, supported mainly by right-wing lawmakers.
Under the new rules, EU countries will be allowed to open “return hubs” outside the bloc where migrants whose asylum applications are rejected can be sent. The regulation also introduces harsher penalties for illegal immigrants, who refuse to leave, including detention and entry bans.
According to French MEP François-Xavier Bellamy
The decisive changes introduced by this regulation will make it possible to simply guarantee this straightforward principle: if you come to Europe illegally, rest assured that you will not stay here.
EU member states had previously endorsed the package in December, after the European Commission proposed the changes last year. The legislation is now one step closer to full implementation across the 27-nation bloc.
The approval has sparked dramatic reactions among the Left, with videos showing MEPs experiencing a meltdown and staging protests in the European Parliament.
