Finland has started examining the creation of a return hub outside the European Union together with other Nordic countries after EU member states and the European Parliament approved new rules aimed at strengthening migrant returns.
Interior Minister Mari Rantanen said the Finnish government has launched preliminary work on the proposal, which would allow rejected asylum seekers and people staying illegally in the EU to be transferred to facilities located outside the bloc.
Rantanen announced the move after a meeting of EU interior ministers in Luxembourg, describing recent agreement on the EU’s new return regulation as a major development in European migration policy.
“Finland is carrying out this joint exploratory work with the other Nordic countries,” Rantanen said. “The investigations have begun.”
The new EU rules, approved earlier this week, open the door for member states to establish return centres in non-EU countries. The facilities would house people who have received final negative asylum decisions while arrangements are made for their return to their countries of origin.
According to Rantanen, Finland has not yet identified a potential host country for such a centre.
She suggested that any future facility should be located close to countries where European governments face persistent difficulties carrying out deportations.
One example cited by the minister was Somalia, where return rates remain low. Rantanen said only around three per cent of people issued with return orders to Somalia are ultimately returned there.
“That is a very low figure,” she said. “We need to discuss this and find ways to make returns more effective.”
Under the new framework, migrants could be transferred to facilities in third countries even if they have no previous connection to the host nation. The centres could function either as transit facilities while deportations are arranged or as longer-term locations for people awaiting removal.
The European Commission has argued that the measures are needed because EU countries struggle to enforce return decisions. According to the commission, only about 20 per cent of people ordered to leave the bloc currently depart.
The proposal has drawn criticism from refugee and human rights organisations. Advocacy groups argue that the system risks creating prolonged detention outside the EU and could expose migrants to rights violations in countries with weaker legal protections.
Critics have also raised concerns about the absence of a clear time limit on how long migrants could remain in return hubs. While unaccompanied minors would be exempt from transfer under the regulation, families with children could still be sent to the facilities.
Each return hub would require a separate agreement between an EU member state and a non-EU host country. Those agreements would be negotiated individually, giving governments considerable flexibility over how the centres operate.
Several member states are already exploring potential host countries. Discussions have focused largely on countries in Africa and parts of Asia, although no agreements have yet been finalised.
The concept resembles Italy’s migration facilities in Albania, which are operated under a bilateral agreement between Rome and Tirana. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has described the arrangement as a model for broader European cooperation on migration management.
While Finland is studying the idea alongside its Nordic neighbours, not all countries in the region appear equally committed to establishing return hubs.
Swedish Migration Minister Johan Forssell said Sweden is monitoring developments but is not actively preparing such facilities at this stage.
“It is more a question that we are following than something we are actively working on,” Forssell said on arrival at the ministerial meeting.
Denmark, by contrast, has long advocated the use of offshore migration facilities and is pushing for faster implementation of the new rules.
Danish Immigration Minister Morten Bødskov said Copenhagen wants to be among the first governments to establish a return hub under the new framework.
Denmark is aiming to begin formal negotiations with a potential host country before the end of the year. Bødskov was among a group of European ministers who met in Luxembourg on Thursday to discuss ways to accelerate the creation of the centres.
“We tried to coordinate and see whether we can speed up the establishment of return centres,” he said after the meeting.
Denmark has formed a coalition of countries supporting the initiative, including the Netherlands, Germany, Austria and Greece.
The Netherlands has already taken concrete steps. Last year, the Dutch government signed a memorandum of understanding with Uganda regarding a possible return facility and hopes to reach a full cooperation agreement during 2026.
Germany is pursuing a similar timetable.
Alongside return centres, some European governments are also discussing broader plans to move parts of the asylum process beyond EU borders. Ideas under consideration include reception facilities in third countries where asylum applicants would wait while their claims are processed.
Rantanen said such proposals remain at an early stage but could become part of future discussions on migration policy.
“It is entirely possible that the asylum process could be transferred to third countries,” she said. “But there is no concrete progress on that issue yet.”
The Finnish government has also supported models under which international protection could be arranged outside the EU.
HT