BRUSSELS (AP) 鈥 The European Union on Tuesday urged its member countries to deport more people who enter Europe without authorization and who are not eligible to stay, saying that only around one in five would-be migrants who should be sent home actually is.
鈥淟ast year, we had a return rate of only 21% of those who are not eligible to stay,鈥 EU Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson told reporters at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France. 鈥淲hen we fail to return people, this hampers our system and erodes trust.鈥
Johansson said that 340,000 decisions were handed down in EU member nations last year to deport people, but that only in 60% of cases did European authorities try to contact the migrants鈥 home countries to get them accepted back in.
鈥淭o protect the right to apply for asylum we have to show that we are appropriately dealing with those who do not qualify for international protection,鈥 she said. 鈥淲e need migration, but it has to be in a legal and orderly way.鈥
The arrival of well over one million migrants in 2015 鈥 mostly people fleeing war in Syria or Iraq 鈥 sparked one of the EU鈥檚 biggest political crises. Member countries bickered over who should take responsibility for the migrants who enter, and whether other members should be obliged to help.
The row continues today. Repeated attempts to reform the asylum system have been made, but there's been little progress. Unable to resolve the core dispute, the EU has turned to paying the countries that people leave or transit to prevent them setting out in the first place.
Johansson said the EU鈥檚 border and coastguard agency 鈥渋s well equipped鈥 to organize deportation flights, and urged the bloc鈥檚 27 member countries to take advantage of them.
鈥淲e have a good political agreement with Bangladesh,鈥 the EU鈥檚 top migration official noted. She said a Frontex flight would depart for Bangladesh on Wednesday with 68 鈥渞eturnees鈥 aboard. 鈥淭his is the way we should work together,鈥 Johansson said.
___ Follow AP鈥檚 global migration coverage at
