Readmission agreements : function & fundamental rights implications

Abstract

This chapter highlights the function and fundamental rights implications of readmission agreements. In doing so, it explores where and how these readmission agreements feature in the migration control efforts of the EU and its Member States and whether these instruments can be implicated in the fundamental rights violations that can, at times, be occasioned by such efforts. It also considers whether fundamental rights concerns linked directly to cooperation on readmission exist. The chapter concludes by suggesting that, if drafted and applied properly, readmission agreements can sometimes act as a fundamental rights safety net when all prior safeguards in the return process fail, and it calls on the EU to take the lead in this regard.