The legislative package on migrant repatriations being examined by the European Commission "will be very ambitious" and will include "clear obligations on repatriations", "strict rules for those representing a threat to security" and a "more coordinated" framework at a European level, Internal Affairs and Migration Commissioner Magnus Brunner told ANSA on Monday, February 17, on the eve of his visit to Italy to meet with Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni, Deputy Premier and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi and Labour Minister Marina Elvira Calderone.

The EU executive, he stressed, supports the Italian government in its search for "new approaches" to repatriations, for example over a possible review of an innovative but controversial protocol with Albania to process migrants in the non-EU country and thus deter departures.

The scheme has thus far been stymied by Italy's courts with the detention of the first three batches of migrants sent to Italian-run centers in Albania quashed pending a European Court of Justice ruling, expected next week, on safe countries of origin.

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The theme of hubs and the impact on international law

"Italy is a very important partner for us on the issue of migration and returns: I think the government is trying to find new ways to ensure that repatriations actually happen and it is very positive to have new approaches", said the commissioner in the interview.

Themes on the agenda for his visit included returns and hubs --as well as the issue of whether to regulate the matter through a "directive" or a "regulation", a technical issue that presents "advantages and disadvantages" in both cases.

"We need to work together to find solutions that work in practice and now I am working on the creation of a legal framework to support the 27 in carrying out returns effectively, so we fully share this objective", Brunner explained.

The issue of hubs --which was discussed at an informal council in Poland without any specific decision yet -- is delicate because it has an important impact on international law. "The Geneva Convention sets the principle of non-refoulement, further regulated by both international and European Union law: without drifting away from this principle, we must find effective ways to repatriate people who don't need protection, because this is what allows Europe to have a sustainable migration system", Brunner clarified, adding that laws reflect the times in which they are made.

"Some juridical frameworks have become obsolete and this was exactly the situation before we agreed on a pact on asylum and migration: with the pact we now have a base to implement a fair and solid system. And this also applies to repatriations: the current laws have remained the same since 2008 and need to be updated," he stressed.

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New visa strategies

Another fundamental issue is the external scenario, or what happens along migration routes, including the EU's relationship with third countries.

US President Donald Trump, for example, has threatened to impose tariffs on countries that do not intend to take back expelled citizens. Brunner did not take a position on the US president's style -- in general he advised against "reacting to everything that comes from Washington" -- but said he is convinced that the EU needs to "improve the use of tools at its disposal to guarantee that our interests are reflected in international partnerships."

The Commissioner concluded by taking about the EU's visa stragegy. "Our visa policy is a good example. Later this year, I will also present a visa strategy to guarantee that, overall, visas are used in a better way, also as far as migration is concerned," he announced.