(ANSA) - BRUSSELS, SEPTEMBER 13 - "Since 2008, every year about half a million non-EU citizens have received an injunction to leave the Union because they entered or stayed there without authorization. However, less than one in five has actually returned to their home country outside Europe ": the EU Court of Auditors points out in a report on readmissions. One of the causes of the low number of returns of irregular migrants is the difficulty in cooperating with their countries of origin, the court explained. In the period 2015-2020, "the EU has made little progress in concluding the negotiations for the admission agreements, which have run aground mainly in years of problems, first of all the clause on citizens of third countries",that is the rule that allows the repatriation of persons to a third country they had passed through before entering the EU. Third countries tend to oppose this clause - the experts explain - as it is politically very sensitive and not rooted in international law. In practice, the clause on third-country nationals is applied sporadically for legal, operational and human rights-related reasons.
(HANDLE).