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EU Wants to Increase Deportations and Supports ‘Return Hubs’ in Third Countries

Dozens of people from all over the world line in front of the central registration center for asylum-seekers in Berlin, Germany, Monday, Sept. 25, 2023. (AP)
Dozens of people from all over the world line in front of the central registration center for asylum-seekers in Berlin, Germany, Monday, Sept. 25, 2023. (AP)
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EU Wants to Increase Deportations and Supports ‘Return Hubs’ in Third Countries

Dozens of people from all over the world line in front of the central registration center for asylum-seekers in Berlin, Germany, Monday, Sept. 25, 2023. (AP)
Dozens of people from all over the world line in front of the central registration center for asylum-seekers in Berlin, Germany, Monday, Sept. 25, 2023. (AP)

The European Union wants to increase deportations and is opening the way for “return hubs” to be set up in third countries for rejected asylum-seekers, according to a new migration proposal unveiled Tuesday.

Only 20% of people with a return order are effectively removed from EU territory, according to the European Commission, which presented the “European System for Returns” as a potential solution.

The proposal aims to set a standard for all 27 members of the bloc and allow national authorities from one country to enforce the deportation order issued by another. Such rules were missing from the EU’s migration and asylum pact approved last year.

“The European system needs to be clear that when someone is issued a return decision they are being told to leave, not just the country but the entire European Union,” said Magnus Brunner, EU's commissioner for migration, who called the current 20% removal rate unacceptable.

“Any figure would be an improvement, but we don’t want to pin down any specific figures,” he added.

For the proposal to work, however, the EU needs to get countries of origin to readmit their citizens. Brunner acknowledged that the commission and member states are still working on improving that.

The “return hubs," a euphemism for deportation centers, would apply only to people whose asylum requests have been rejected, Brunner said.

While the EU wouldn't set up or manage such centers, which could be in Europe or elsewhere, the commission says it wants to create the legal framework to allow states to negotiate bilaterally or at the EU level with non-EU countries willing to take rejected asylum-seekers.

Migrant rights groups say the proposal undermines the right to asylum.

“We can likely expect more people being locked up in immigration detention centers across Europe, families separated and people sent to countries they don’t even know,” said Silvia Carta of the Platform for International Cooperation on Undocumented Migrants.

The European Parliament and the member states would need to agree on the proposal.

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Taiwanese Rally For, Against the Recall of Opposition Lawmakers Seen as Close to China

A Taiwan flag can be seen at Liberty Square in Taipei, Taiwan, July 28, 2022. REUTERS/Ann Wang/File Photo
A Taiwan flag can be seen at Liberty Square in Taipei, Taiwan, July 28, 2022. REUTERS/Ann Wang/File Photo
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Taiwanese Rally For, Against the Recall of Opposition Lawmakers Seen as Close to China

A Taiwan flag can be seen at Liberty Square in Taipei, Taiwan, July 28, 2022. REUTERS/Ann Wang/File Photo
A Taiwan flag can be seen at Liberty Square in Taipei, Taiwan, July 28, 2022. REUTERS/Ann Wang/File Photo

Threats from China and anger over legislative deadlock are dominating Taiwan's political discourse as residents rally for and against a campaign to recall two dozen opposition Nationalist Party lawmakers in polling to be held on Saturday.

Thousands of supporters of the independence-leaning ruling Democratic Progressive Party turned out in the heart of the capital Taipei on Thursday to hear from civil society activists, writers, musicians and others who support the recalls, which could potentially give the party, also known as the DPP, a majority in the legislature.

The DPP won last year’s presidential election, but came up short in the legislature, The AP news reported.

Since then, the China-friendly Nationalists, also known as the KMT, and their allies have sought to hobble the power of the executive and blocked key legislation, especially the defense budget.

That has been seen as undermining both Taiwan’s hard-won democracy and its ability to deter China’s threat to invade the island it considers its own territory. Those concerns prompted activists to campaign for recall votes in the districts where Nationalists were seen as most vulnerable, and they succeeded in 24 districts where votes are scheduled this weekend.

A recall measures must win 40% of the constituents in a district to succeed, after which a special election will be held to fill the seat, in which all parties can compete.

The KMT and the smaller Taiwan People’s Party together hold a majority in the parliament with 62 seats, while the ruling DPP holds 51 seats.

The KMT on Thursday sent some of its best known politicians, including the mayor of Taipei, the speaker of the legislature and the party chairman, out to urge voters to oppose the recall. It also planned a rally in Taipei on Friday. The KMT calls the measure a power grab by the DPP and a threat to multi-party democracy.

Perhaps more than any issue, China has loomed over the campaign, with both its officials and state media dismissing the recall effort as a further futile attempt to preclude what they call the inevitability of Beijing's annexation of Taiwan, either by military or peaceful means.

On Taiwan, it has brought out differences between Taiwanese who favor pursuing the current path and those who seek accommodation with Beijing. China-friendly politicians have been accused of selling out Taiwan for accepting trips to the mainland and meetings with Chinese politicians, while they defend themselves as keeping open lines of communication in light of Beijing's refusal to interact with the DPP.

The recall campaign — Taiwan's first — was prompted by anti-KMT groups alarmed by the party's closeness with China, corruption and the KMT's refusal to work with President Lai Ching-te's administration.

They first needed to gather signatures from 10% of voters in each district, targeting legislators seen as particularly vulnerable or controversial and under China's influence. Each campaign seeking to unseat a single legislator required a huge organizational effort, limiting the number of KMT lawmakers targeted.

The KMT is primed to contest any special elections that must be called within six months, raising the possibility that they could win back the seats, and the DPP, although enlivened by the campaign, could still remain in the minority.