Met dank overgenomen van Europese Commissie (EC), gepubliceerd op dinsdag 27 april 2021. When we presented our new Pact on Migration and Asylum, we committed to building an entirely new ecosystem on returns. The reasoning is clear: any effective migration system also needs to ensure that those who do not have a right to stay in the EU are returned to their countries of origin. Not doing so undermines the credibility of our migration system and takes away from our ability to provide protection to those who need it. And yet, returns is an area where the EU collectively still has a lot of work to do. In 2019, nearly 500,000 people were issued with return orders but only 142 000 of them actually left - meaning we are only managing to return one third of those who should leave.