In a written answer on 12 June 2026, Commissioner for Home Affairs Magnus Brunner defended EU funding for mechanisms assisting irregular migrants, rejecting calls to make such funding conditional on verifiable return results. The answer, responding to a question from French MEP Mathilde Androuët (Patriots for Europe), details specific EU allocations: a EUR 10 million call launched in May 2026 under the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF) for protecting third-country workers' rights while fighting illegal employment, and a EUR 6 million call in 2024 for assistance to victims of trafficking and prevention of labour exploitation. Brunner stressed that Member States must ensure AMIF-funded actions comply with EU rules on returning illegally staying third-country nationals, and that the Commission monitors implementation of the Employer Sanctions Directive, with a latest report adopted in May 2026. However, he did not commit to making funding conditional on recovered penalties or cooperation with return authorities, instead pointing to existing conditions in the AMIF Regulation, Financial Regulation, and Common Provisions Regulation. The answer signals the Commission's continued prioritisation of protecting migrant workers' rights over tightening return-related conditionality, a stance that may face pushback from member states seeking stricter migration enforcement.
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