About the inventory
The inventory was created in 2006. It is updated on a monthly basis. Since its inception, the need for a dual approach has become evident in order to capture states’ bilateral agreements and arrangements linked to readmission.
What is a dual approach?
For many decades, cooperation on readmission has been bilaterally practiced while gaining tremendous momentum in bilateral and multilateral talks.
Bilateral agreements may be formalized, as is often the case, through the conclusion of standard readmission agreements based on reciprocal obligations. However, making an inventory of bilateral standard readmission agreements would never suffice to capture the various cooperative mechanisms that have been designed to facilitate the expulsion of foreigners viewed as being irregular.
Under certain circumstances, two states may agree to conclude a bilateral agreement or arrangement without necessarily formalizing their cooperation. They may decide to graft readmission onto a broader framework of bilateral cooperation (e.g. police cooperation agreements including a clause on readmission, administrative arrangements, and partnership agreements) or to deal with it through other channels (e.g. by using exchanges of letters and memoranda of understanding). Among others, the rationale for such non-standard agreements is to respond flexibly to various contingencies over time. Many EU Member States, as well as other countries around the world, have concluded such bilateral non-standard agreements in order to address re-documentation and the delivery of travel documents or laissez-passers to remove foreigners who are viewed or defined as being irregular.
This dual approach explains why it is important to talk about agreements linked to readmission, for it encompasses agreements that can be standard and non-standard. You can view this graph to understand how both standard and non-standard agreements linked to readmission intersect. Otherwise, if you wish to know more about the expansion of the EU’s readmission system and its drivers, please click here.
How to use the inventory
Click on the countries listed below to view their respective bilateral agreements linked to readmission. Data are in Open Access and prior online registration is required:
| EU plus Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and the United Kingdom |
|
| Austria | Latvia |
| Belgium | Lithuania |
| Bulgaria | Luxembourg |
| Croatia | Malta |
| Cyprus | Netherlands |
| Czechia | Norway |
| Denmark | Poland |
| Estonia | Portugal |
| Finland | Romania |
| France | Slovakia |
| Germany | Slovenia |
| Greece | Spain |
| Hungary | Sweden |
| Iceland | Switzerland |
| Ireland | United Kingdom |
| Italy | European Union’s readmission agreements |
| Balkans, Eastern Europe, Caucasus | |
| Albania | Montenegro |
| Armenia | North Macedonia |
| Bosnia & Herzegovina | Serbia |
| Georgia | Russia |
| Kosovo | Ukraine |
| Moldova | |
| Mediterranean countries | |
| Algeria | Tunisia |
| Libya | Turkey |
| Morocco | |
The inventory contains tables listing a large number of references to bilateral agreements linked to readmission. These pertain to:
- Standard readmission agreements, namely:
- Bilateral readmission agreements which may be signed (‘S’) or have entered into force (‘V’);
- Bilateral Implementing Protocols (‘IP’) to EU readmission agreements (EURAs), concluded between an EU Member State and a non-EU country;
- Agreements concluded between the Benelux countries and a third country (AB).
- Non-standard agreements, namely:
- Police/security cooperation agreements (‘CP’) including a clause on the readmission/removal of irregular foreigners;
- Conventions (‘C’) including a clause on the readmission/removal of irregular foreigners;
- Memoranda of understanding (‘ME’);
- Administrative arrangements (‘AA’);
- Provisional agreements (‘AP’);
- Exchanges of letters (‘EL’).
Agreements linked to readmission can be under negotiation (N = Negotiation).
Copyright and ethics statement
The Inventory of the Bilateral Agreements linked to Readmission is a database as defined in Directive 96/9/EC on the legal protection of databases. In accordance with the sui generis database right, unauthorized extraction and/or re-utilization of all or substantial parts of the database are forbidden without the prior approval of the author. Please note that any unauthorized reproduction, copying or data mining is forbidden.
The Inventory of the Bilateral Agreements linked to Readmission is registered in Harvard Dataverse with DOI: https://doi.org/10.7910/DVN/VKBCBR
Thanks
The inventory results from long-standing research. It also owes its existence to the instrumental contribution of numerous respondents, among others national and international civil servants, who kindly accepted to send documents and information or replied to unofficial queries.
The inventory is updated on a monthly basis, and to the best of my knowledge. If you have any constructive comments or suggestions, or if you have any problem with account login, please do not hesitate to contact me.
