The European Commissioner, Ursula von der Leyen, announced in a letter to the 27 member states of the European Union, published on Monday evening, that the Commission will propose new legislation that will speed up the deportation of illegal immigrants.
Von der Leyen said that, at the request of several EU member states, the Commission "will present a new legislative proposal that clearly defines the duties of assistance to deported people and simplifies the deportation processes."
"We need a new legislative framework to strengthen our freedom of action," she added.
Von der Leyen sent this message to EU countries ahead of the European summit scheduled to take place in Brussels on Thursday and Friday, part of which will be devoted to the discussion of immigration issues.
In this context, Brussels proposes to facilitate the deportation of illegal residents, especially by adopting a system whereby all EU countries recognize any deportation decision taken by any member state.
"LOOPHOLES IN THE SYSTEM"
"We must build a level of coordination and trust that ensures that any immigrant who has been ordered to leave one country cannot exploit loopholes in the system to avoid deportation" by moving to another EU country, said von der Leyen.
The head of the committee admitted that less than 20% of the decisions on deporting illegal residents are followed up.
Von der Leyen confirmed that the European Union will strive to increase cooperation with third countries concerned and will use several tools to achieve this goal, including, for example, tightening visa procedures for citizens of any country that refuses to cooperate in this area.
She explained that "harmonizing the visa policy has proven to be an important tool" in reducing illegal immigration to the European Union, noting that this matter has been successful in several countries, including Bangladesh and Ghana.