The matter of readmission between Ukraine and European Union member states is regulated by the 2007 Agreement between the European Community and Ukraine on the readmission of persons (hereinafter referred to as the “2007 Agreement on readmission”) [1]. This Agreement applies to all current EU member states, with the exception of the Kingdom of Denmark and the Republic of Ireland [1, Art. 1(b)].
The principal provisions for accelerated procedure are specifically covered in Article 5(3) of the 2007 Agreement on readmission [1, Art. 5(3)] and are directly tied to the concept of “border region”, as defined in Article 1(l) of the Agreement [1, Art. 1(l)]. Namely, “border region” refers to three territorial areas:
1) “an area which extends up to 30 kilometres from the common land border between a Member State and Ukraine”;
2) “the territories of seaports including custom zones”;
3) “international airports of the Member States and Ukraine” [1, Art. 1(l)].
Obviously, the first territorial area for an accelerated procedure of readmission implies a shared state border between Ukraine and an EU member state that falls under the purview of the 2007 Agreement on readmission [1]. There are four such states: the Republic of Poland, the Slovak Republic, Hungary, and Romania.
The two other territorial areas for an accelerated procedure of readmission (the territories of seaports including custom zones and international airports of the EU member states and Ukraine) may apply to any EU member state that falls under the purview of the 2007 Agreement on Readmission [1], including the states that share a state border with Ukraine. Thus, the other two territorial areas for an accelerated procedure of readmission apply to both Ukraine and all the current EU member states, with the exception of the Kingdom of Denmark and the Republic of Ireland [1, Art. 1(b)].
At the same time, regardless of the specific territorial area, the legal regime governing the accelerated procedure of readmission is the same for Ukraine and all current EU member states, with the exception of the Kingdom of Denmark and the Republic of Ireland. Namely, a comprehensive reading of Article 1(1), and Article 5(3) of the 2007 Agreement on readmission [1, Art. 1(l), Art. 5(3)] shows that for an accelerated procedure of readmission to take place, the following four conditions must be met simultaneously:
condition one: the person must be apprehended in the border region of the Requesting State, including seaports and airports;
condition two: the person must be apprehended after illegally crossing the state border from the territory of the Requested State;
condition three: the person must be apprehended within 48 hours from illegally crossing the state border; and
condition four: the Requesting State must submit a readmission application within two days following this person’s apprehension.
As we can see, conditions one and two are territorial in nature, while conditions three and four are temporal; yet all four conditions are unequivocally defined and restrictive in character. In other words, an accelerated procedure of readmission will not be possible if even a single one of these conditions is not met: either the person is apprehended outside the border region of the Requesting State; or the person is apprehended after illegally crossing the state border from a territory other than that of the Requested State; or the person is apprehended later than 48 hours from illegally crossing the state border; or the Requesting State submits a readmission application later than two days following this person’s apprehension.
By the way, according to Article 8(3) of the 2007 Agreement on readmission, a reply to a readmission application submitted under the accelerated procedure is also restrictive in character and “has to be given within two working days after the date of receipt of such application”. Only “upon duly motivated request by the Requested State and after approval by the Requesting State, the time limit for a reply to the application may be extended by one working day” [1, Art. 8(3)].
The texts of most Implementing Protocols, namely those between Ukraine and the Republic of Austria [2, Art. 1(2)], the Czech Republic [3, Art. 2(1)] and the Republic of Lithuania [4, Art. 1(1)], contain only general regulations on the accelerated procedure of readmission. The Implementing Protocol between Ukraine and the Benelux States (the Kingdom of Belgium, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, the Kingdom of the Netherlands) does not mention the accelerated procedure of readmission at all [5]. At the same time, the Implementing Protocol between Ukraine and the Republic of Estonia [6] regulates the accelerated procedure of readmission by directly referencing the relevant provisions of the 2007 Agreement on readmission [1, Art. 5(3), Art. 8(3)] as well as including specific qualifications in its text [6, Art. 2(2), Art. 4(6), Art. 8(4)].
This means that in implementing an accelerated procedure of readmission, Ukraine and all the above-mentioned states will rely on the relevant provisions of the 2007 Agreement on readmission [1, Art. 5(3), Art. 8(3)] as directly applicable. Only the Implementing Protocol between Ukraine and the Republic of Poland contains detailed regulations of the accelerated procedure of readmission, as laid out in the lex specialis – Article 5 “Accelerated procedure of readmission” [7, Art. 5]; this can be explained by the large number of readmissions between Poland and Ukraine.
Literature:
1. Agreement between the European Community and Ukraine on the readmission of persons. Luxembourg, 18 June 2007. OJ L 332, 18.12.2007, p. 48–65. URL: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/ALL/?uri=CELEX:22007A1218(01) (accessed: November 30, 2022).
2. Імплементаційний протокол між Кабінетом Міністрів України та Австрійським Федеральним Урядом про реалізацію Угоди між Україною та Європейським Співтовариством про реадмісію осіб. Учинено в м. Київ 29 листопада 2012 р. URL: https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/040_039#Text (accessed: November 30, 2022).
3. Імплементаційний протокол між Кабінетом Міністрів України та Урядом Чеської Республіки до Угоди між Україною та Європейським Співтовариством про реадмісію осіб. Учинено в м. Київ 21 жовтня 2013 р. URL: https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/203_065#Text (accessed: November 30, 2022).
4. Протокол між Кабінетом Міністрів України та Урядом Литовської Республіки про виконання Угоди між Україною та Європейським Співтовариством про реадмісію осіб. Учинено в м. Київ 7 грудня 2018 р. URL: https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/440_005-18#Text (accessed: November 30, 2022).
5. Імплементаційний протокол між Україною та державами Бенілюксу (Королівством Бельгія, Великим Герцогством Люксембург, Королівством Нідерланди) до Угоди між Україною та Європейським Співтовариством про реадмісію осіб. Учинено у м. Брюссель 17 грудня 2018 р. URL: https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/893_002-18#n2 (accessed: November 30, 2022).
6. Імплементаційний протокол між Кабінетом Міністрів України та Урядом Естонської Республіки до Угоди між Україною та Європейським Співтовариством про реадмісію осіб. Учинено в м. Києві 14 січня 2015 р. URL: https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/233_001-15#Text (accessed: November 30, 2022).
7. Імплементаційний протокол між Кабінетом Міністрів України та Урядом Республіки Польща про виконання Угоди між Україною та Європейським Співтовариством про реадмісію осіб, вчиненої 18 червня 2007 року в м. Люксембург. Учинено в м. Варшава, 24 квітня 2017 р. URL: https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/616_002-17#Text (accessed: November 30, 2022).
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