European Union lawmakers and member state representatives have agreed in principle on new regulations aimed at speeding up the deportation of rejected asylum seekers. The deal was reached on Monday amid growing political pressure across the bloc to curb illegal migration.
The agreement would allow EU countries to transfer rejected asylum seekers to third countries if they cannot be returned to their nations of origin. The regulation also introduces stricter measures for dealing with illegal migrants, particularly those considered a security risk.
These measures include the possibility of home searches, welfare cuts, document confiscation, and extended detention periods. The maximum detention period would be increased from six months to two and a half years under the new rules.
Entry bans would also be lengthened from five to ten years in most cases, with lifetime bans possible in certain circumstances. The deal aims to address what some lawmakers describe as a failure to enforce existing deportation orders.
“For years, Europe sent the worst possible message: even if you had no right to stay, chances were high that nothing would happen,” French Member of the European Parliament Francois-Xavier Bellamy told Politico. Bellamy, who represented the European People’s Party in the negotiations, added, “That era is ending. If you have no right to stay in Europe, you will have to leave.”
The proposal was initially put forward by the European Commission last year. It responded to growing discontent with a decade-long influx of illegal migrants, which has remained one of Europe’s most divisive political issues since 2015, when roughly a million people entered the EU.
In 2025, the EU migrant population reached a record 64.2 million people, according to a recent Berlin-based study using Eurostat and United Nations data. That figure includes approximately 46.7 million individuals born outside the bloc.
Despite Brussels and countries like Germany and Sweden initially embracing an open-door approach toward asylum seekers, several EU states have since moved to tighten their rules. Nations including Austria, Denmark, the Netherlands, and Greece have pushed for the establishment of return hubs outside the bloc.
Rights groups and left-wing lawmakers have criticized the new EU rules. They warn that the regulations could expand detention, increase raids, and expose rejected asylum seekers to unsafe conditions outside EU territory.
EU Migration Commissioner Magnus Brunner welcomed the deal. He stated that the bloc will have “more control over who can come to the EU, who can stay and who needs to leave.”
The agreement still requires formal approval from EU governments and the European Parliament before it can enter into force.
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