EU countries step up expulsions

EU countries step up expulsions
Credit: European Parliament / Flickr

The number of expulsions to third countries and within the European Union is increasing, according to figures published on Monday by the EU statistical office, Eurostat.

In the second quarter of 2022, 96,550 non-EU citizens were ordered to leave an EU country, and a total of 23,110 were deported, including expulsions, within the Union. This represent a 15% increase in eviction orders and an 11% increase in deportations compared to the same period in 2021.

France ordered 33,450 people to leave its territory, followed by Greece (8,750), Germany (8,275) and Italy (6,020). France also carried out the most return operations in the second quarter of 2022 (3,590), ahead of Germany (2,765), Sweden (2,380) and Greece (1,770).

Albanians represented the largest number of persons returned to another country, followed by Georgians, Russians and Turks, according to Eurostat.

During the corona pandemic, the number of deportations had fallen significantly. Germany, for example, made 760 evictions in the second quarter of 2020, compared to 9,920 in the same period of 2019, according to Eurostat.

Under EU law, people entering the EU are not always allowed to travel freely within the bloc, depending on their visa or asylum status, leading to expulsions within the bloc.


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