Right-wing members chant ‘send them back’ in EU Parliament. Return of Migrants law passed

While Italian President Giorgia Meloni called the EU Return Regulation a major success, some MEPs described the chant as a ‘lynch-mob atmosphere’ in Parliament.

Supporters of the EU Return Regulation cheered as the Bill was passed | Photo: X/@manus_carlisle

New Delhi: The European Union Parliament rang with chants of “send them back” on 17 June, as it passed the controversial ‘Return of Migrants’ law by 418 votes to 218. The vote saw 30 abstentions.

As the result was announced, Right-wing members who supported the Bill applauded and cheered, while opposing MEPs raised their fists in protest and responded with cries of “shame on you”.

The Return Regulation seeks to speed up the procedures for the return of migrants living in the EU illegally. It would also allow EU countries to set up deportation centres offshore, where migrants could be detained for up to two years.

The vote highlights the deep divisions in the bloc after the 2024 elections, which ushered in several nationalist and Right-wing MEPs. It also confirms the rise of a Right-leaning majority in EU Parliament.

‘Resounding, shameful failure’

Italian President Giorgia Meloni called the Return Regulation a major success in Europe.

“We promised Italians that we would change Europe and we have, with courage, patience, and determination, because what guides us is clear: respecting the programme that citizens voted for, point by point. We will not stop; we will carry on in exactly the same way,” Meloni said in a recent video message.

The new law and the chant that accompanied it have been widely criticised by rights groups. Amnesty International France described the plan as “absurd, cruel and discriminatory,” The Guardian reported.

Members of the EU Parliament expressed their anger and disappointment on X.

“The chanting of ‘send them back’ and euphoria to deport even kids. A lynch-mob atmosphere in Parliament is shameful,” wrote German politician Michael Bloss on X. He has been a Member of the European Parliament since 2019.

Javi López, vice-president of the EU Parliament, posted a video about “what is at stake”.

“Today the far right celebrates a victory. For Europe, however, it is a resounding and shameful failure,” he wrote on X.