MEPs Mieke Andriese and Marieke Ehlers, both from the Patriots for Europe (PfE) group, have submitted a written parliamentary question to the European Commission challenging the EU's centralised approach to migration returns and calling for the repatriation of migration policy competences to Member States.
The question, dated 11 June 2026, takes aim at what the MEPs describe as a structural failure in EU migration policy. They cite Commission data indicating that in 2025 only 28% of individuals subject to expulsion orders actually left EU territory, contrasting this with the Commission's stated priority of a firm return policy. The MEPs argue that the EU's shared-responsibility framework deprives Member States of the policy leeway and diplomatic tools needed to act effectively, while threatening sanctions against those who act independently.
The question contains three concrete demands. First, it asks the Commission to explain the gap between its 100% commitment and the actual 28% expulsion rate. Second, it asks whether the Commission recognises national sovereignty and is prepared to return migration policy competences to Member States, without using EU sanctions as a deterrent. Third, it asks whether the Commission is prepared to include strict return clauses in trade agreements that would automatically freeze preferential trade terms in the event of non-compliance, and to provide more diplomatic room for Member States to respond to what the MEPs call 'cries for help from the indigenous population suffering under disruptive mass migration.'
The question reflects a sovereigntist policy orientation that seeks to shift migration control from the EU level back to national governments, and to link trade benefits directly to cooperation on returns. It also signals a desire to harden the EU's external migration policy by making trade concessions conditional on readmission.
Under Parliament's rules, the Commission is expected to reply within approximately six weeks. The answer will indicate whether the Commission is open to revisiting the division of competences in migration policy or to introducing automatic trade sanctions for non-compliance with returns.