European Union’s new 5-year strategy to deal with immigrants?
The European Union presented plans to overhaul its visa system and speed up deportations, part of a five-year strategy on migrants that reinforces its tough stance on the sensitive issue.
The EU’s border agency said that illegal arrivals in the 27-member bloc fell by more than a quarter in 2025, according to the French news agency AFP, but political pressure for action remains. EU Migration Commissioner Magnus Brunner said: “The priority is clear: to reduce and keep the number of irregular migrants arriving.”
The strategy presented on Thursday stressed that the block’s priorities include making the deportation process of refugees who fail to obtain asylum more effective.“Misuse discredits the concept of migration, undermines public trust and ultimately weakens our ability to provide protection, while also affecting our efforts to attract talent,” Bruner said.
The European Parliament is currently examining a draft law presented by the European Commission that would allow the establishment of “return hubs” outside the EU’s borders. The proposal, which has been criticized by human rights groups, also includes the idea of harsh penalties for migrants who refuse to leave the European territory, including long-term detention.
European governments are under pressure to take a tougher stance amid growing public discontent with migrants, which has fueled a right-wing shift across the bloc.The strategy also calls for strengthening ‘aggressive diplomacy’ on migration, to persuade third countries to help stop migrants from reaching Europe and to take back their citizens who do not have the right to stay.
Brussels has recently signed or is negotiating agreements with North African countries, including Tunisia, Mauritania, Egypt and Morocco, under which it will cooperate in controlling the flow of migrants in exchange for aid and investment. “This strategy only increases the dependence on third countries to manage migration, while making the EU complicit in any resulting rights abuses,” said Olivia Sandberg-Diez, a policy analyst at the human rights organization.
Brussels has also presented a completely new visa strategy, which aims to use granting or restricting access to the EU for citizens of certain countries as a diplomatic weapon to achieve its policy goals. “This is one of the most powerful tools we have,” said a source close to the commission.
In particular, the EU wants to impose sanctions on countries that refuse to take back their citizens, which would limit the issuance of visas, while relaxing procedures to attract skilled workers.
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