The European Commission recently released information on the progress of the European Agenda on Migration and Security, including a renewed European Union Action Plan on Return and a call for quicker implementation of commitments made through the agenda.

At the recent Malta Summit, member states highlighted the challenges posed by the EU return policy, triggering a renewed plan and the recent release of several recommendations to Member States on the subject. At the EU level, the commission is proposing increased financial support for return efforts and improved information exchanges on return enforcement, among other measures. Some of the recommendations proposed for member states include improved coordination and shortened appeals deadlines to make the process more efficient.

The European Commission also called on member states to increase the rate of relocation and make good on commitments for the European Border and Coast Guard Agency in the run up to the European Council March 9-10. The commission reported on progress to the Migration Partnership Framework and implementation actions taken along the Central Mediterranean route, as well as on the Partnership Framework with third countries, in which progress has been made in Ethiopia, Niger, Nigeria, Mali and Senegal.

The commission presented its fifth progress report on the Security Union, which urges adoption of proposals like the Terrorism Directive an Firearms Directive.