EU Plans Migrant Return Hubs Outside Bloc, Names Pakistan a Focus
EU Plans Migrant Return Hubs Outside Bloc, Names Pakistan a Focus
Work on EU migrant return hubs is progressing “very well”, Denmark said on Thursday, as European Union interior ministers met in Luxembourg to approve tougher new rules that would let member states send rejected asylum seekers to wait for deportation outside Europe. EU migration chief Magnus Brunner told reporters that Pakistan and Bangladesh were the main starting points for migration routes into Europe, placing Pakistan at the centre of the new return arrangements.
What the ministers agreed
Meeting in Luxembourg on October 1, EU interior ministers formally adopted a new Regulation on the return of irregular migrants, replacing a 2008 Directive. The vote drew 23 votes in favour, with Belgium abstaining and Spain voting against. Denmark and Ireland did not take part under their justice and home affairs opt-outs.
The regulation creates an EU-wide framework for enforcing return orders. It removes the automatic suspensive effect of appeals and, for the first time, gives member states a legal basis to transfer people with a return decision to centres outside the EU while their readmission to their country of origin is arranged.
Irish Justice Minister Jim O’Callaghan, whose country holds the rotating presidency of the Council, announced the formal adoption as he arrived at the meeting, calling it “a very significant achievement for the EU”.
The Group of Five and the first hub
Denmark, along with Austria, Greece, Germany and the Netherlands, has been exploring options for setting up the first centres. “When it comes to return hubs it’s progressing very well,” Danish interior minister Morten Bodskov told reporters. “We are moving in the right direction.”
Germany’s Alexander Dobrindt said talks were “preliminary” and declined to name the countries involved, adding that any deal must be sustainable in the long term and withstand legal challenges. He said he was hopeful a first agreement could be sealed before the end of the year.
Greek migration minister Thanos Plevris said Greece was aiming to open a centre in 2027 in an African country “that we have already agreed on”, though he would not name it. Two Greens lawmakers who visited Rwanda and Uganda said officials there told them negotiations with the five countries were progressing, and Rwanda has been named repeatedly as the most likely first host. Uzbekistan’s foreign ministry has denied any involvement.
Why Pakistan is in focus
Brunner said the focus was on Pakistan and Bangladesh as the main starting points for migration routes to Europe. People would then make their way through the Gulf and Egypt to Libya, from where many attempt to cross the Mediterranean by boat.
“We have to start getting engaged at a very early stage,” he said.
The hubs would not process asylum claims. Instead, they would house people whose asylum claims authorities have already rejected and who face a return decision, serving as either a final destination or a transit point for onward return to the country of origin. Under the agreed rules, only people with no legal right to remain in the EU could be transferred there.
Criticism of the EU migrant return hubs plan
Critics have called the hubs “legal black holes” that could leave people stranded with little oversight. They point to past failures: Britain abandoned its scheme to deport undocumented migrants to Rwanda, while Italian-run facilities to process migrants in Albania have faced legal challenges and slow uptake.
The Luxembourg talks come as anti-immigration parties ride high across the bloc, with far-right gains in Germany this month. Ministers were also asked to give final approval to tougher migration rules granting authorities broader detention powers, and Greece proposed the temporary suspension of asylum applications during declared emergencies.
FAQs
What are EU migrant return hubs?
They are centres outside the EU where people whose asylum claims have been rejected and who face a return decision would wait for deportation to their country of origin.
Which countries are setting them up?
Denmark, Austria, Greece, Germany and the Netherlands are working together on the first centres, with a deal hoped for before the end of the year and the first hub possibly opening in 2027.
Why is Pakistan named in the plan?
EU migration chief Magnus Brunner said Pakistan and Bangladesh are the main starting points for migration routes into Europe, making both countries priority partners for return arrangements.
When were the new rules adopted?
EU interior ministers formally adopted the new Return Regulation in Luxembourg on October 1, with 23 votes in favour, Belgium abstaining and Spain against.
