Lacking ‘Effectiveness’ in EU Readmission and Return Cooperation: Need for a New EU Approach?

This chapter highlights the limitations of EU readmission and return policies, addressing both empirical challenges and the research design’s constraints. While the fsQCA results offer explanatory power, the chapter critiques the EU’s expectations towards non-EU countries and migrants alike. Member states and internal inconsistencies can also undermine the EU’s approach. The role of researchers in this contentious field and a ‘migration knowledge hype’ that is focused on data collection is discussed. Despite these limitations, the findings offer valuable insights into the complexities of readmission and return cooperation.