EU aims to step up return of 3rd-country nationals who have no legal right to stay

By Beyza Binnur Donmez

GENEVA (AA) - The European Union aims to speed up the return of people who do not have a legal right to stay in the bloc to their countries of origin, its commissioner said Thursday.

European Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson's remarks came at a press conference alongside Spanish Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska which was held after a meeting of interior ministers.

"The attack in Brussels was a wake-up call," Johansson said, reminding that the Brussels attacker was a Tunisian citizen who came to Brussels 12 years ago and "was able to live here even though his asylum application was repeatedly rejected."

"This is not the time to blame anyone, but we should look at it as a wake-up call for all of us and work much harder on this issue," she stressed.

Noting that current legislation on the matter dates back to 2008, she said: "We urgently need the new legislation."

She added that she hopes to start a dialogue on the issue "pretty soon" and to close it under the Spanish presidency of the Council of the European Union.

The commissioner underlined that the bloc has effectively returned 20% more people than last year.

"So it's going in the right direction. And this is what I would like to boost even further," she said.

"I have asked the EU return coordinator (Mari Juritsch) to call for an extraordinary meeting tomorrow to discuss with member states how we can step up to make sure that people that pose a security risk to the European Union could be much, much quicker returned to their country of origin."

"This must be a priority," she added.

On Monday, two Swedish nationals were killed and another injured following a shooting near King Baudouin Stadium.

The gunman was shot dead by the police in a Brussels district, Belgian Interior Minister Annelies Verlinden said Tuesday.