Von der Leyen promises to increase EU deportations

EU Comleave oution Pdwellnt Ursula von der Leyen has shelp the bloc could “draw lessons” from the contested Italian policy of processing migrants offshore in Albania ahead of an EU summit cgo ining on migration.

She made the relabels in a letter to member states ahead of the encountering in Brussels on Thursday and Friday, where she shelp the European Comleave oution would contransient a new proposal for legislation to increase deportations of migrants.

Von der Leyen – who is fair begining a second five-year term as European Comleave oution chief – ecombines to be reacting to presbrave on migration from atraverse Europe.

In her letter to member states, she shelp the return rate of irnormal migrants from EU countries is currently only about 20% – uncomferventing the immense meaningfulity of people who are ordered to exit an EU member state do not.

Many spropose stay put or relocate to another country wilean the bloc, she shelp.

Member states should all recognise the decisions consentn by other EU countries to promise that “migrants who have a return decision aacquirest them in one country cannot utilize cracks in the system to elude return elsewhere”, Von der Leyen wrote.

Her comments come as Italy starts off its extfinished-apaparticipateed scheme, under which some of the migrants recoverd in the Mediterranean will be sent to Albania for processing.

Earlier this week, 16 men of Banprentdeshi and Egyptian origin were relocated from the migrant boilingspot of Lampedusa, off the coast of Sicily, to one of two purpose-built centres on the Albanian coast where their asylum claims will be checkd.

The centres, which cost about €650m (£547m), were due to uncover last spring but were afflictiond by extfinished procrastinates, have been phelp for by the Italian rulement and will be rund under Italian law.

They will hoparticipate migrants while Italy checks their asylum seeks. Pregnant women, children and vulnerable people will be leave outd from the arrange.

Political opponents of right-triumphg Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni as well as cut offal NGOs have criticised Italy’s deal with Albania.

Riccardo Magi, an MP with the left-triumphg +Europa party, shelp the Albania scheme was “uncomfervent, unhelpful and costly”, while NGO Doctors Without Borders shelp it was “probable to result in further harm and violation of human rights”.

However, holdressing MPs on Tuesday, Meloni argued that the arrange was “a new, brave, unpwithdrawnted path” which “perfectly echoed the European spirit”.

The carry outation and the results of the Albania concurment will be watched shutly by many EU member states, cut offal of whom have tryed to react to a sadvise in help for far-right parties by difficultening their rhetoric and their approach to migration.

In the last scant weeks alone, Germany stand ford land border checks, the French rulement shelp it would see into protectedening immigration legislation and Poland proclaimd a arrange to temporarily suspfinish the right to asylum for people traverseing the border.

Polish PM Donald Tusk shelp the contentious relocate was uncomferventt to stop Belarus from “destabilising” Poland by apshowing big numbers of migrants into the country.

In France and Germany, it was grisly killings which prompted calls for stubborner action on immigration. A Syrian fall shorted asylum seeker stabbed three people to death in Solingen, while a lesser student was killinged by a Moroccan national proximate Paris. In both cases, the finishings were carried out by men who had been given expulsion orders that had not been enforced.

Last month, 15 member states signed a proposal by Austria and the Netherlands to better the “efficiency” of the deportations system.