Negotiations on the proposal for a Return Regulation and the consolidation of EU return powers

Abstract This article examines the proposed EU Return Regulation, arguing that the proposal by the Commission and the position taken by the co-legislators show a desire to transform the governance of return in the EU, by consolidating core enforcement powers at EU level. Moving beyond harmonisation, the proposal confers return powers of a supranational nature through mutual recognition and enforcement of return decisions; expanded EU digital infrastructures for governing return; and an enhanced operational role for the EU itself. It also advances the externalisation of return through cooperation with third countries. These developments turn Member States – at least to some extent – into operational arms of EU return policy. The article argues that this shift exposes structural weaknesses in the EU system of remedies, which in turn raise serious concerns for the protection of fundamental rights of third-country nationals.