EU eyes migration clampdown with push on deportations, visas

From left: German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt, Josef Schuster, President of the Central Council of Jews in Germany and EU Commissioner for Internal Affairs and Migration Magnus Brunner at the holocaust Memorial in Berlin, on January 27, 2026. [AFP]

The European Union on Thursday laid out plans to overhaul its visa system and step up deportations as part of a five-year migration strategy that cements a hardening line on the hot-button issue.

Irregular arrivals in the 27-nation bloc were down by more than a quarter in 2025, according to the EU's border agency -- but political pressure to act remains high.

"The priority is clear: bringing illegal arrival numbers down and keeping them down," Magnus Brunner, the EU's commissioner for migration, said.

The strategy unveiled Thursday stressed the need to boost deportations of failed asylum-seekers among the bloc's priorities.

"Abuse gives migration a bad name -- it undermines public trust and ultimately takes away from our ability to provide protection and undercuts our drive to attract talent," said Brunner.

The European Parliament is currently examining a legal text put forward by the European Commission allowing for so-called "return hubs" to be set up outside the EU's borders.

Criticised by rights groups, the proposal also envisages harsher penalties for migrants who refuse to leave European territory, including longer periods of detention.

European governments are under pressure to take a tougher stance amid a souring of public opinion on migration that has fuelled a rightward shift across the bloc.

The strategy also mentioned reinforcing an "assertive migration diplomacy" to persuade third countries to help stop migrants from reaching Europe and take back their nationals with no right to stay.

Brussels recently struck or is negotiating deals with Northern African countries including Tunisia, Mauritania, Egypt and Morocco, whereby it gets help controlling migration flows in return for aid and investments.

Amnesty International criticised the EU's approach as "flawed".

It "only heightens its dependence on third countries to manage migration, while making it complicit in any rights violations that may result", said Olivia Sundberg Diez, a policy analyst with the human rights group.

Brussels also put forward a brand-new visa strategy, with the stated objective of using the granting of access to EU territory to certain nationals as a diplomatic means to foster its policy goals.

It's "one of the strongest tools in our hands", said a commission source.

In particular, the EU wants to sanction countries that refuse to take back their nationals by restricting the issuance of visas, while easing procedures to attract skilled workers.

The commission is expected to present a plan for reform by the end of the year.