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\n Photo: AP <\/p>\n
Denmark and four EU countries agreed on a model for \u201creturn hubs\u201d outside the bloc to accommodate rejected asylum seekers, aiming for the first deal by early 2027. Rights groups warned such centres could undermine migrants\u2019 human rights protections<\/p>\n
Published Date – 5 September 2026, 12:20 AM <\/p>\n
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\n Photo: AP
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Belgrade: Denmark and four other European Union countries agreed Friday on a model for \u201creturn hubs\u201d in non-EU nations and hope to begin sending migrants to the facilities as early as 2027, an official said Friday.<\/p>\n
The announcement, made after a one-day meeting in Copenhagen, is the latest development in an effort by EU states to send people whose asylum requests have been rejected to third countries outside the bloc.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are moving forward toward what is actually a fundamental transformation of the common European migration and asylum system,\u201d said Morten Bodskov, Denmark\u2019s minister of immigration and integration.<\/p>\n
He briefed reporters alongside counterparts from Germany, the Netherlands, Austria and Greece. The five countries have been negotiating with governments mainly in Africa over potential sites, pioneering the initiative for the whole of the EU.<\/p>\n
Human rights groups have criticised plans to deport migrants to centres or prisons in third countries, arguing that European nations cannot guarantee their rights will be respected there. Bodskov rejected the idea that \u201creturn hubs\u201d were a euphemism for detention and deportation centres and said the International Organisation for Migration and the UN Refugee Agency would monitor the centres.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are not talking about camps, we are talking about opportunities, for a new chance for irregular migrants who cannot return to their own country today and who have no legal grounds to be in our countries,\u201d Bodskov said.<\/p>\n
The UNHCR told The Associated Press that it \u201chas not been approached with details of such a proposal,\u201d and therefore \u201ccannot comment on the specific arrangements being discussed or on what any potential role for UNHCR might entail.\u201d<\/p>\n
Return hubs abroad would be the first for EU migration policy<\/p>\n
Although the ministers did not specify which third countries were being considered, Bodskov said they expect to reach their first deal by early 2027. He acknowledged that the concept of \u201creturn hubs\u201d was mocked only a few years ago and deemed incompatible with EU and international law.<\/p>\n
EU laws, however, have changed due to public and political pressure for tougher measures against irregular migration. European lawmakers voted in June to allow member states to set up centres outside the EU on their own or in small coalitions, and send rejected asylum seekers there instead of to their home countries. \u201cThis is something new, and it\u2019s groundbreaking,\u201d said Bart van den Brink, the Netherlands\u2019 minister of asylum and migration.<\/p>\n
Rwanda in negotiations with European nations<\/p>\n
In early August, a spokesperson for the Rwandan government said it \u201cwas natural\u201d for her government to negotiate with European countries and others to potentially host asylum seekers who are not allowed to live elsewhere.<\/p>\n
Speaking to Royal FM Kigali, Rwandan government spokesperson Yolande Makolo cited an emergency transit mechanism established in Gashora in 2018 for people evacuated from Libya, who could stay there until they were resettled in third countries.<\/p>\n
Makolo said one of the ideas discussed was to offer a \u201csafe place\u201d where people who have nowhere else to go could get medical care, training and rest while their asylum applications were processed, until they could go back home if safe or get resettled to yet another country.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want to be part of a solution to a big global problem,\u201d Makolo said. It remained unclear what countries in negotiations with EU nations would gain in return for taking Europe\u2019s rejected migrants.<\/p>\n
Rights groups concerned about enforcement of law outside EU<\/p>\n
Migrant rights groups have criticised European efforts to set up migrant centres abroad where it may be difficult to monitor and enforce human rights.<\/p>\n
In an emailed statement, Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Michael O\u2019Flaherty, said: \u201cvague assurances of compliance with human rights law are not enough.\u201d \u201cStates need to commit to the guardrails necessary to prevent setting up human rights black holes,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The European ministers in Copenhagen emphasised the new hubs would abide by European and international law. Van den Brink, the Dutch immigration minister, said technical talks and missions to potential partner countries would be used \u201cto gain more insight into the human rights situation and the living conditions of the refugees.\u201d \u201cBecause we want to do this in a European way, in line with our values and international law and human rights at its core.\u201d Brussels-based rights group PICUM condemned the meeting in Copenhagen.<\/p>\n
\u201cEU leaders may call these centres an \u201cinnovative solution,\u201d but outsourcing migration control is an old tactic to simply move people out of sight and evade human rights obligations,\u201d group director Michele LeVoy said. (AP)<\/p>\n
The announcement, made after a one-day meeting in Copenhagen, is the latest development in an effort by EU states to send people whose asylum requests have been rejected to third countries outside the bloc.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are moving forward toward what is actually a fundamental transformation of the common European migration and asylum system,\u201d said Morten Bodskov, Denmark\u2019s minister of immigration and integration.<\/p>\n
He briefed reporters alongside counterparts from Germany, the Netherlands, Austria and Greece. The five countries have been negotiating with governments mainly in Africa over potential sites, pioneering the initiative for the whole of the EU.<\/p>\n
Human rights groups have criticised plans to deport migrants to centres or prisons in third countries, arguing that European nations cannot guarantee their rights will be respected there.<\/p>\n
Bodskov rejected the idea that \u201creturn hubs\u201d were a euphemism for detention and deportation centres and said the International Organisation for Migration and the UN Refugee Agency would monitor the centres.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are not talking about camps, we are talking about opportunities, for a new chance for irregular migrants who cannot return to their own country today and who have no legal grounds to be in our countries,\u201d Bodskov said.<\/p>\n
The UNHCR told The Associated Press that it \u201chas not been approached with details of such a proposal,\u201d and therefore \u201ccannot comment on the specific arrangements being discussed or on what any potential role for UNHCR might entail.\u201d<\/p>\n
Return hubs abroad would be the first for EU migration policy<\/p>\n
Although the ministers did not specify which third countries were being considered, Bodskov said they expect to reach their first deal by early 2027.<\/p>\n
He acknowledged that the concept of \u201creturn hubs\u201d was mocked only a few years ago and deemed incompatible with EU and international law.<\/p>\n
EU laws, however, have changed due to public and political pressure for tougher measures against irregular migration. European lawmakers voted in June to allow member states to set up centres outside the EU on their own or in small coalitions, and send rejected asylum seekers there instead of to their home countries.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is something new, and it\u2019s groundbreaking,\u201d said Bart van den Brink, the Netherlands\u2019 minister of asylum and migration.<\/p>\n
Rwanda in negotiations with European nations<\/p>\n
In early August, a spokesperson for the Rwandan government said it \u201cwas natural\u201d for her government to negotiate with European countries and others to potentially host asylum seekers who are not allowed to live elsewhere.<\/p>\n
Speaking to Royal FM Kigali, Rwandan government spokesperson Yolande Makolo cited an emergency transit mechanism established in Gashora in 2018 for people evacuated from Libya, who could stay there until they were resettled in third countries.<\/p>\n
Makolo said one of the ideas discussed was to offer a \u201csafe place\u201d where people who have nowhere else to go could get medical care, training and rest while their asylum applications were processed, until they could go back home if safe or get resettled to yet another country.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want to be part of a solution to a big global problem,\u201d Makolo said. It remained unclear what countries in negotiations with EU nations would gain in return for taking Europe\u2019s rejected migrants.<\/p>\n
Rights groups concerned about enforcement of law outside EU<\/p>\n
Migrant rights groups have criticised European efforts to set up migrant centres abroad where it may be difficult to monitor and enforce human rights.<\/p>\n
In an emailed statement, Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Michael O\u2019Flaherty, said: \u201cvague assurances of compliance with human rights law are not enough.\u201d \u201cStates need to commit to the guardrails necessary to prevent setting up human rights black holes,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The European ministers in Copenhagen emphasised the new hubs would abide by European and international law. Van den Brink, the Dutch immigration minister, said technical talks and missions to potential partner countries would be used \u201cto gain more insight into the human rights situation and the living conditions of the refugees.\u201d \u201cBecause we want to do this in a European way, in line with our values and international law and human rights at its core.\u201d Brussels-based rights group PICUM condemned the meeting in Copenhagen.<\/p>\n
\u201cEU leaders may call these centres an \u201cinnovative solution,\u201d but outsourcing migration control is an old tactic to simply move people out of sight and evade human rights obligations,\u201d group director Michele LeVoy said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Denmark and four EU countries agreed on a model for \u201creturn hubs\u201d outside the bloc to accommodate rejected…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":159695,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2],"tags":[3030,27,26,73,190,1919,4897,200,74873,55645],"class_list":["post-159694","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-denmark","tag-austria","tag-danmark","tag-denmark","tag-european-union","tag-germany","tag-greece","tag-migration","tag-netherlands","tag-rejected-asylum-seekers","tag-return-hubs"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@dk\/117214292843402262","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/159694","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=159694"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/159694\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/159695"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=159694"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=159694"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=159694"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}