The European Parliament is poised to decide on the EU deportation bill this Wednesday (17 June) after clearing the committee stage earlier in the week.

A right-leaning faction within the parliament largely shaped the bill text, leaving the lead MEP, Dutch Renew Europe representative Malik Azmani, on the sidelines.

During Tuesday plenary debate in Strasbourg, Azmani nevertheless portrayed the divided internal talks as cooperative.

“I’m especially thankful for the productive collaboration that has defined these negotiations,” he told the assembly while declaring full support for the current draft.

The European People’s Party, under French EPP leader François-Xavier Bellamy, had pushed Azmani aside in March by tabling an alternative text backed by the hard right.

Speaking after Azmani, Bellamy said the bill would restore order and control over external borders, noting that the section he proposed would be put to a vote the next day.

Bellamy’s ally, French far-right MEP Fabrice Leggeri, who faces a probe over alleged complicity in crimes against humanity, sought to gain political ground.

Leggeri criticised former migration commissioner Ylva Johansson for championing migrant rights while he led Frontex and suppressed reports of rights abuses.

“The automatic suspension of many appeals and returns to hubs outside the European Union was something no one had imagined a few years ago,” he said.

Besides authorising police to search homes for undocumented migrants, the bill permits detentions of up to two years and provides the legal basis for offshore processing centres for asylum seekers awaiting removal.

The tightened rules, agreed by the council and parliament two weeks earlier, go beyond Renew’s original proposals yet are expected to pass the final plenary vote largely unchanged.

Renew has been the most divided group, having abstained in early votes and largely accepted right-wing demands while continuing to press for protections covering migrant children.