*By Mélissa Camara
While the EU negotiations on the ‘return’ regulation have entered a decisive stage, the Cypriot presidency of the Council must not endorse to a dramatic rollback of fundamental rights.
The EU migration policy agenda will be particularly busy over the coming weeks. After years of tough negotiations and a 2-year transition period, the infamous Asylum and Migration Pact will indeed start to apply on 12 June. This 10-file legislative package contains disastrous provisions which will definitely affect the fundamental rights and people’s dignity.
This is why, as Green Member of the European Parliament, I will continue to oppose those texts and to fight for fundamental rights.
Even the supporters of the Asylum and Migration Pact are concerned about the compliance with basic rights in this framework. Two weeks ago, the Cypriot presidency of the Council of the EU circulated a confidential note to national delegations which states the following: “Effective, independent, and well-resourced fundamental rights monitoring mechanisms are essential to ensuring accountability, building trust among Member States, and safeguarding the rights of applicants for international protection”.
The note also provides the Member States with guidance on fundamental rights mechanism as well as raises questions to national delegations on the implementation of monitoring mechanisms.
‘Return hubs’, lifetime entry bans and child detention
The EU migration agenda and its links with fundamental rights will however not be only about Asylum and Migration Pact in June. Decisive rounds of negotiations between the Cypriot presidency of the Council and the European Parliament will thus take place regarding the ‘return’ regulation. What is this text about?
This legislative file, which has been under discussion for more than a year, is supposed to ‘establish a common system for the return of third-country nationals staying illegally in the Union’. Behind this highly official and rather abstract wording, this regulation would imply a massive setback for fundamental rights of exiled persons.
The text would give a green light to ‘return hubs’ outside the EU borders, where the third-country nationals would be deported. I visited the Albanian centre in Gjadër last year, which would serve as a model. The fundamental rights are clearly not respected. People there are identified by numbers, they have no clue about the day and month, suicide attempts are regularly reported. Monitoring mechanisms can absolutely not be ensured in such centres.
The return regulation would also allow prolonged detention as well as child detention, including in prison facilities. Who would believe there is no impact on fundamental rights?
Fundamental rights rely on procedural rights. With appeals against return decisions likely no longer to have automatic suspensive effect, people’s procedural rights would be highly affected. If a person is removed during an appeal procedure and it is then found that this person shouldn’t have been returned for humanitarian reasons, how do you really ensure this person is safe?
Cyprus shouldn’t be the presidency that undermines fundamental rights
As acting presidency of the Council of the EU, Cyprus shouldn’t be the one signing and sealing such disastrous provisions together with the far-right political groups in the European Parliament, which would endanger people’s life and dignity.
Fundamental rights are at the heart of the EU’s values and legal order. They govern every policy. We all should keep that in mind. We collectively bear responsibility towards EU and non-EU citizens, to ensure compliance with human rights.
I therefore solemnly call on the Cypriot presidency not to become a presidency of shame, a presidency that undermines fundamental rights and legitimises deportation policies at the expense of human dignity.
Fundamental rights must be a matter of top priority. Always.
*Mélissa Camara is a Green Member of the European Parliament, member of the LIBE committee and negotiator on the ‘return’ regulation on behalf of the Greens’.
