While strikes dominated headlines, senior officials quietly gathered in the Council of the EU’s Justus Lipsius building on 26 November for the Strategic Committee on Immigration, Frontiers and Asylum (SCIFA). Belgium chairs the meeting under the rotating presidency, giving Brussels a front-row seat in shaping new rules that could redefine the way Schengen states handle overstayers and rejected asylum seekers.
Top of the agenda is a proposal to make return decisions issued by one member state automatically valid across the EU, replacing today’s patchwork approach. Belgian officials argue the change would reduce ‘asylum shopping’ and relieve pressure on their own over-stretched reception network, where occupancy remains above 95 %.
![EU’s SCIFA meets in Brussels to debate mutual recognition of return decisions]()
Delegates are also reviewing a Commission paper on transitioning Ukrainians with temporary-protection status into longer-term residence permits. Belgium hosts roughly 90,000 displaced Ukrainians, many of whom have entered the labour market; employers are keen on a smooth path to longer visas to avoid skills shortages.
Although the meeting is preparatory and closed to the press, outcomes will feed directly into the Justice and Home Affairs Council in December, where ministers could adopt a general approach. Multinational employers should monitor developments, as mutual recognition of return orders could accelerate enforcement actions and affect Posted-Worker planning for non-EU assignees.
Top of the agenda is a proposal to make return decisions issued by one member state automatically valid across the EU, replacing today’s patchwork approach. Belgian officials argue the change would reduce ‘asylum shopping’ and relieve pressure on their own over-stretched reception network, where occupancy remains above 95 %.
Delegates are also reviewing a Commission paper on transitioning Ukrainians with temporary-protection status into longer-term residence permits. Belgium hosts roughly 90,000 displaced Ukrainians, many of whom have entered the labour market; employers are keen on a smooth path to longer visas to avoid skills shortages.
Although the meeting is preparatory and closed to the press, outcomes will feed directly into the Justice and Home Affairs Council in December, where ministers could adopt a general approach. Multinational employers should monitor developments, as mutual recognition of return orders could accelerate enforcement actions and affect Posted-Worker planning for non-EU assignees.
