By Jan Strupczewski and Julia Payne
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Seventeen European countries called on the European Commission on Friday to sharpen the EU's rules on returning irregular migrants to their home countries, a document showed, a week ahead of a summit where migration is likely to be on the agenda.
The letter to the bloc's executive body was signed by 14 of the 27 EU member states, including Germany, France and Italy, and three countries from the European passport-free Schengen area - Norway, Switzerland and Liechtenstein.
It came after a run of elections across the EU dominated by the issue of migration, and signs of growing support in parts of the continent for parties calling for tougher controls.
"The key message that all agree on is a clear signal to the Commission that we need a stricter EU returns system with clearer obligations for cooperation from the returnees and less interpretation by the European Court of Justice," a diplomat from one of the EU states that signed the letter said.
The signatories argued that current regulations left too much room for interpretation that was increasingly left to judges, not elected governments, added the diplomat, who asked not to be named because of the sensitivity of the topic.
The European Commission had no immediate comment, but with migration likely to play a key issue in German parliamentary elections next September, the topic will dominate the agenda for the new Commission that is likely to take office in December.
Migration is also likely to feature on the agenda of EU leaders when they meet for talks on Oct 17-18 after Germany reintroduced temporary border checks last month. French Prime Minister Michel Barnier has said Paris would consider similar moves.
Germany's coalition government has toughened its stance on migration following a surge in arrivals and a rise in support for the opposition hard-right and conservatives.
CONTROLS, OBLIGATIONS
Last week, Austrian voters handed a first-ever general election victory to the anti-immigration, Eurosceptic and Russia-friendly Freedom Party.
The EU agreed a major new set of rules late last year on sharing out the costs and responsibilities of looking after migrants after a decade of talks. The paper, seen by Reuters, argues the returns policy needs sharpening.
"People without the right to stay must be held accountable," the paper said.
It called for the Commission to propose a new law that would explicitly state that a government can detain an irregular migrant who poses a risk to national security - an option that has been discussed since 2018 but has not yet been adopted.
It also called for digitally harmonising the management of cases of migrants so all countries use the same software. This would help identify and deal with the same irregular migrants showing up in various EU countries.
Finally it called on the Commission to propose that migrants have an obligation to cooperate with authorities.
"It is still too common now for return procedures to be suspended because persons do not cooperate in identification, or disappear off the radar, or repeatedly launch appeals," the diplomat said.