Article 50 Return operations

Without entering into the merits of return decisions, which remain the sole responsibility of the Member States, the Agency shall provide Member States with technical and operational assistance and shall ensure the coordination or the organisation of return operations, including through the chartering of aircraft for the purpose of such operations and organising returns on scheduled flights or by other means of transport. The Agency may, on its own initiative and with the agreement of the Member State concerned, coordinate or organise return operations.

Member States shall provide operational data on returns necessary for the assessment of return needs by the Agency through the platform referred to in Article 49(1) and shall inform the Agency of their indicative planning as regards the number of returnees and the third countries of return, both with respect to relevant national return operations, and of their needs for assistance or coordination by the Agency. The Agency shall draw up and maintain a rolling operational plan to provide the requesting Member States with the necessary operational assistance and reinforcements, including through technical equipment. The Agency may, either on its own initiative and with the agreement of the Member State concerned or at the request of a Member State, include in the rolling operational plan the dates and destinations of return operations it considers necessary, based on a needs assessment. The management board shall decide, on the basis of a proposal from the executive director, on the modus operandi of the rolling operational plan. The Member State concerned shall confirm to the Agency that all returnees covered by a return operation organised or coordinated by the Agency are the subject of an enforceable return decision.

Where members of the teams are deployed, they shall consult the Schengen Information System prior to the return of any returnee in order to check whether the return decision issued in relation to that returnee has been suspended or whether its enforcement has been postponed.

The rolling operational plan shall contain the elements necessary for carrying out a return operation, including those concerning the respect for fundamental rights, and shall refer to, inter alia, relevant codes of conduct and procedures for monitoring, reporting and the complaints mechanism.

The Agency may provide technical and operational assistance to the Member States and may also, either on its own initiative and with the agreement of the Member State concerned or at the request of the participating Member States, ensure the coordination or the organisation of return operations for which the means of transport and return escorts are provided by a third country of return (‘collecting return operations’). The participating Member States and the Agency shall ensure that the respect for fundamental rights, the principle of non-refoulement, the proportionate use of means of constraints and the dignity of the returnee are guaranteed during the entire return operation. At least one Member State representative, and one forced-return monitor from the pool established under Article 51 or from the monitoring system of the participating Member State, shall be present throughout the entire return operation until arrival at the third country of return.

The executive director shall draw up a return plan for collecting return operations without delay. The executive director and any participating Member State shall agree on the plan detailing the organisational and procedural aspects of the collecting return operation, taking account of the implications for the fundamental rights and risks of such operations. Any amendment to or adaptation of that plan shall require the agreement of the parties referred to in paragraph 3 and in this paragraph.

The return plan for collecting return operations shall be binding on the Agency and any participating Member State. It shall cover all the necessary steps for carrying out collecting return operations.

Every return operation organised or coordinated by the Agency shall be monitored in accordance with Article 8(6) of Directive 2008/115/EC. The monitoring of forced-return operations shall be carried out by the forced-return monitor on the basis of objective and transparent criteria and shall cover the whole return operation from the pre-departure phase until the handover of the returnees in the third country of return. The forced-return monitor shall submit a report on each forced-return operation to the executive director, the fundamental rights officer and to the competent national authorities of all the Member States involved in the given operation. If necessary, appropriate follow-up shall be ensured by the executive director and competent national authorities respectively.

If the Agency has concerns regarding the respect of fundamental rights at any stage of a return operation, it shall communicate them to the participating Member States and to the Commission.

The executive director shall evaluate the results of the return operations and shall transmit every six months a detailed evaluation report to the European Parliament, to the Council, to the Commission and to the management board covering all return operations conducted in the previous semester, together with the observations of the fundamental rights officer. The executive director shall make a comprehensive comparative analysis of those results with a view to enhancing the quality, coherence and effectiveness of future return operations. The executive director shall include that analysis in the Agency's annual activity report.

The Agency shall finance or co-finance return operations from its budget, in accordance with the financial rules applicable to the Agency, giving priority to those conducted by more than one Member State, or from hotspot areas.