Two significant European Court of Justice (ECJ) rulings on returns were made concerning procedures in the Netherlands.

On 8 November 2022, the ECJ ruled that judicial checks of detention decisions are compulsory; from now on the national court will check whether the conditions of lawfulness of the detention of a third-country national recognised under EU law have been complied with on the basis of the case file provided.

On 22 November 2022, the ECJ ruled that a third-country national suffering from a serious illness cannot be the subject of a return decision if there are well-founded fears for a swift, extensive and irreversible aggravation of the pain because there are no fitting healthcare provisions available in the country of origin. The case concerned a Russian patient with leukaemia in the Netherlands using cannabis as pain medication, which is not legal in Russia.

Cyprus conducted a training course on forced return escorts to prepare staff for different kinds of return operations in coordination with Frontex.

The Reintegration and Assistance (RIAT) tool continued to facilitate post-return reintegration at national level. Italy set up RIAT services in 16 Italian police headquarters as part of the pilot phase. Germany reported that the implementation of their Joint Reintegration Programme and the Reintegration Assistance Tool (RIAT) continued and has so far had positive results in providing reintegration support to returnees.

Return operations were carried out in Greece, Portugal, and Georgia. Readmissions were received in Georgia and Montenegro. During the reporting period, Montenegro took steps to sign readmission agreements with the most common countries of origin of irregular migrants, including Pakistan, Iraq, Iran, Morocco and Algeria.