EU migrant return and readmission agreements: between legitimacy and usefulness

Abstract

This paper analyzes the readmission agreements and the informal or non-binding agreements that the EU has signed with third parties regarding return and readmission in order to facilitate the return and transit of people who no longer meet the conditions of entry, stay or residence in their respective terri-tory. It mainly answers the following questions: What are they and what particular characteristics do they present? Which are they and what procedures have been followed for their celebration? What are its main material or substantive contents? A set of final considerations brings this study to an end, pointing out, among other things, that they fall between its debated legitimacy and its limited useful-ness.