COMECE sounds the alarm on the European migrant return regulation

Verified Facts

On June 17, 2026, the European Parliament adopted the new regulation on the return of migrants, a complement to the Migration and Asylum Pact that came into force in 2024. This text strengthens expulsion mechanisms at the European level and harmonizes procedures among Member States.

Mgr Mariano Crociata, President of the Commission of the Bishops' Conferences of the European Union (COMECE), issued an official statement expressing his concerns about this vote. COMECE represents the bishops' conferences of the twenty-seven Member States to the institutions in Brussels.

Analysis of Underlying Issues

The Return Regulation fits within the logic of the Migration Pact: to harmonize, accelerate, and standardize. Technically, this addresses a real problem—the varying procedures from one state to another make the Schengen area difficult to manage. In practice, this means shorter deadlines for appeals, faster removals, and reduced margins for intervention by those who assist asylum seekers on the ground.

This is precisely what concerns COMECE. Local churches, Caritas, and Catholic associations are often the first points of contact for people in irregular situations. When deadlines are shortened, the possibilities for humanitarian and legal intervention are equally reduced.

Subsidiarity, a founding principle of the European architecture and a cornerstone of the Church's social doctrine (Centesimus Annus, n. 48), calls for decisions to be made at the level closest to the human reality in question. An accelerated procedure in Brussels does not perceive the concrete situation of an Eritrean woman or an Afghan minor.

Doctrinal Insight

Leo XIV, during his visit to Spain, reminded that "every person must be treated with respect," regardless of their administrative status. Francis' Laudato Si' (n. 49) explicitly links care for creation and care for vulnerable persons: the two cannot be separated.

The Gospel does not propose a migration policy. It proposes a perspective: "I was a stranger and you welcomed me" (Mt 25:35). This perspective does not exclude legitimate requirements for security and order. It demands that they never become a reason to erase the person behind the file.

Points for Reflection for the Reader

The Return Regulation will not close the migration issue. The structural causes of migration—wars, poverty, climate disruptions—are not addressed by faster expulsion procedures.

The Catholic position is not the indiscriminate opening of borders. It is the dignity of every person until the last moment of the procedure that concerns them. The two are not mutually exclusive. Confusing them, in one way or another, is a mistake that Christians engaged in the public sphere cannot afford.