"The priority is clear: bringing illegal arrival numbers down and keeping them down," Magnus Brunner, the EU's commissioner for migration, said. The strategy unveiled Thursday stressed the need to boost deportations of failed asylum-seekers among the bloc's priorities. Criticised by rights groups, the proposal also envisages harsher penalties for migrants who refuse to leave European territory, including longer periods of detention. European governments are under pressure to take a tougher stance amid a souring of public opinion on migration that has fuelled a rightward shift across the bloc. The commission is expected to present a plan for reform by the end of the year.