Rising numbers of asylum seekers and migrants trying to reach the European Union have put the implementation
of an effective return policy on top of the agenda of the EU’s migration policies. In 2008, common EUprocedures
for the return and removal of irregularly-staying migrants were defined in the so-called Return
Directive. The return of migrants is bound to the adherence to fundamental human rights. Ethnic and national
minorities comprise groups that are particularly vulnerable and often require peculiar protection. This study tries
to assess to what degree minorities are protected by the EU in the context of return. By conducting case-studies
on Tamil returnees to Sri Lanka and Roma returnees to Serbia using secondary data, this project tries to provide
insight into this issue. Therefore, the cases are assessed with reference to EU human rights documents, primarily
the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union. The case studies indicated inconsistencies with the
Charter in the return practices with both minorities. The analysis allows us to conclude that the broad wording in
EU legislation and an insufficient inclusion of minority protection provides national authorities with a
discretionary power that threatens the adherence to the Charter of Fundamental Rights.