European migration law is about to undergo one of its most profound transformations in recent years. The European Parliament has adopted its position on the new EU Regulation on the return of third-country nationals who do not hold a valid right of residence. Before producing concrete legal effects, the text must be formally adopted by the EU Council and published in the Official Journal of the European Union — but the direction has been set, and preparing in advance is already a strategic choice today.
For anyone involved in migration proceedings — whether foreign nationals subject to enforcement measures, local authorities, public administrations or legal professionals — this reform introduces significant operational changes that warrant immediate attention.
An Integrated European System: Moving Beyond Siloed National Procedures
Until now, the management of returns has remained substantially fragmented: each Member State issued its own measures, which were often neither recognisable nor enforceable beyond national borders. The new Regulation aims to overcome this logic by introducing a European Return Order, an instrument that accompanies the national return decision and is made available through the Schengen Information System.
In practical terms, this means that if a person subject to a return order moves to another Member State, that State will be able to recognise and enforce the measure already issued, without necessarily initiating an entirely new procedural process from scratch. For those assisting foreign nationals in situations involving mobility across multiple European countries, it therefore becomes essential to verify not only the measures adopted in the State where one operates, but also the possible existence of prior decisions or alerts recorded in European information systems.
The Duty to Cooperate: A New Pillar of the Procedure
One of the most significant elements of the reform concerns the reinforcement of the duty to cooperate incumbent upon the foreign national subject to return proceedings. The person concerned will be required to remain available to the competent authorities, provide information useful for their identification, communicate updated contact details, cooperate in obtaining travel documents, and refrain from any conduct that may obstruct the enforcement of the measure.
The consequences of a failure to cooperate may be concrete and progressive in nature:
- obligations of residence or periodic reporting to the authorities;
- reduction of incentives provided for voluntary return;
- financial penalties;
- extension of the duration of the entry ban;
- in certain cases, criminal sanctions under applicable national law.
For those assisting foreign nationals in these proceedings, accurately documenting the
