The European Parliament has voted in favour of a new negotiating position on the EU Return Regulation, a move Amnesty International says significantly expands the bloc’s punitive detention and deportation framework. According to Amnesty, the agreement was pushed through quickly by political groups supporting tougher anti-migration policies, without sufficient scrutiny or meaningful assessment of its human rights impact.
Amnesty warned that the decision reflects a broader shift in the EU toward harsher, more exclusionary migration policies that could weaken due process and undermine evidence-based policymaking. The organization argued that, rather than reducing irregular migration, the proposed measures may leave more people trapped in vulnerable and precarious situations.
The proposed regulation would impose stricter obligations, sanctions, and restrictions on individuals who receive return decisions. Amnesty also highlighted concerns that the reforms would greatly expand the use of detention and allow people to be held for longer periods, which it says falls short of international legal standards and raises serious human rights concerns.
A major point of concern is the possibility of transferring people to so-called “return hubs,” described as offshore detention centres in countries they may have never entered. Amnesty strongly opposed this aspect of the proposal, stating that such centres pose severe risks of rights violations and cannot be implemented in a way that complies with human rights standards.
The current reform process began in March 2025, when the European Commission proposed replacing the existing Return Directive with a new Return Regulation. Amnesty had already warned in late 2025 that the Council’s position on the proposal introduced unprecedented detention powers, sanctions, and rights restrictions tied to migration status.
Earlier this month, on 9 March 2026, the European Parliament’s Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs Committee adopted its position after a rushed and contested process involving multiple draft texts. The version ultimately backed—supported by the European People’s Party and right-leaning political groups—was the same text endorsed by Parliament in today’s vote. This decision now clears the way for trilogue negotiations with the Council, which are expected to move forward quickly before the regulation can be formally adopted.
