Europe may brace for faster and more efficient deportation of foreign illegals.

The European Commission is quietly crafting new regulations aimed at reducing the flow of illegal immigrants, E.U. diplomats told journalists on conditions of anonymity.

A draft directive on returns could be shared with member states’ permanent representations as early as February 2025, an initiative that reflects a broader rightward turn in European politics and growing pressure from countries like Greece, Italy and Poland, marking a continued hardening of the bloc’s stance on immigration.

The Commission is currently engaging with E.U. capitals to fine-tune the specifics of the directive and current migration laws remain notoriously intricate, requiring careful navigation of national, E.U., and international legal frameworks.

Key elements likely to feature in the proposal include clarifying the rights and responsibilities of immigrants who have exhausted legal avenues to remain in the Union, as well as establishing clearer guidelines for deportations to third countries, whether that be the migrants' country of origin or a location where they have spent significant time.

One controversial measure under discussion is the restriction of movement for migrants awaiting deportation. Authorities may require them to “check in” at designated centers to reduce the risk of absconding and legal challenge.

The European Commission has not confirmed or denied the allegations.

According to Eurostat data, 143,000 non-E.U. individuals were refused entry into the E.U. in 2022; of these, 62% were stopped at external land borders, 34% at air borders and 4% at sea borders. A further 1.1 million persons were illegally present, 431,000 were ordered to leave an E.U. country and 74,000 were returned to a country outside the bloc.

Almost half (47%) of the first-time asylum applicants in 2022 had Asian citizenship, 22% African citizenship, 16% European citizenship (non-E.U.) and 14% had North or South American citizenship.

Syria was the main country of citizenship of asylum seekers (132,000 first-time applications or 15% of all first-time applications in the E.U.), ahead of Afghanistan (114,000 or 13%), Venezuela (50,000 or 6%) and Türkiye (49,000 or 6%).

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