In 2025, about 135,000 migrants subject to deportation were expelled from EU countries. This constitutes a record 28% of the number of individuals ordered to leave the territory of the Union.
In 2025, 28% of migrants subject to deportation were expelled from European Union countries, the highest rate in the last decade, said Magnus Brunner, the Austrian European Commissioner for Home Affairs and Migration, in an interview with the German newspaper Die Welt am Sonntag. For comparison, in 2022, this figure was 16%, writes DW.
Thus, of more than 491,000 individuals required to leave the EU, about 135,000 were deported last year. The record figure in recent years, according to Brunner, is explained, among other things, by "the consistent actions of member states, as well as greater stability in some host countries and an improved information system."
Brunner: The figure is unsatisfactory, old rules do not work
At the same time, the commissioner considered the figure achieved in 2025 to be "unsatisfactory." "The old rules for deporting illegal migrants from the EU are simply not effective enough," noted Brunner. In this regard, he called for the updated regulation presented by the European Commission in March 2025 to be adopted as soon as possible. According to the commissioner, it establishes, among other things, "stricter rules" for lawbreakers, as well as "clear and mandatory requirements" for individuals subject to deportation.
Moreover, Brunner emphasized the importance of ensuring that the countries to which deported migrants are sent are prepared to accept them. To this end, the EU, in particular, "strategically uses its leverage," he pointed out. "Visa policy, trade, and development finance will be more closely linked to cooperation on migration in the future," said Brunner.
At the end of March, the European Parliament approved the creation of centers for migrants outside the EU
On March 26, 2026, Members of the European Parliament voted in favor of starting negotiations with the Council of the EU for the final adoption of a law allowing the deportation of migrants who do not have the right to remain in the EU. The participants in the vote also supported the establishment of deportation centers for migrants in third countries and the introduction of harsher penalties for violations of migration legislation.
German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt, commenting on the European Parliament's decision, stated that the country aims to reach agreements with third countries to establish deportation centers "by the end of this year." "We are currently moving steadily along this path," he pointed out.
Brunner also supported the results of the vote. According to him, thanks to the decision, the EU "has taken a step closer" to a "reliable and functioning migration system."
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