Leaders of at least 19 EU member states have signed a joint letter to the EU executive on the sidelines of the current European Council summit, demanding the rapid creation of so-called return hubs—offshore deportation centres where illegal migrants can be held outside the European Union while awaiting removal.
The move comes just one day after the EU Parliament adopted the landmark ‘Return Regulation,’ which makes deportations easier and, for the first time, allows EU countries the option to set up return hubs in willing third countries.
These centers are designed to prevent rejected asylum seekers from disappearing into Europe while their deportation cases are processed and their countries of origin arrange their return.
Leftist parties in Brussels have been protesting the ‘inhumane’ measure for months, with their MEPs chanting “Shame on you!” when the Parliament finally adopted it, only to be outshouted by right-wingers’ celebratory chants of “Send them back!”
Many in Brussels had assumed few governments would make use of the new powers. Instead, more than two-thirds of EU member states quickly backed the idea. The letter shows that support for offshore return centres extends well beyond a handful of migration hawks.
“Together we are redefining the European conversation on migration,” the letter reads, adding that “we now need concrete results that will make a real difference for our citizens with solutions based on third countries, as quickly as possible.”
The leaders signing the letter described the initiative as a shared “vision” and vowed to “personally lead the way” to make sure it comes to life.
The push is led by Denmark and Italy, both long-time supporters of processing rejected asylum seekers outside the EU. Italy already has a ready-to-use return hub in Albania, but activist judges in the Italian judiciary have prevented Giorgia Meloni’s government from using it thus far, citing an EU regulation that has now been changed.
Danish PM Mette Frederiksen—one of Europe’s most successful social democrat leaders, largely thanks to her hardline immigration policies uncommon on the Left—stressed the political urgency behind the initiative.
“We need to take back control of Europe’s borders,” Frederiksen said. “Excessive migration has huge consequences for European populations [and] for the cohesion of our society.”
The full list of signatories has not yet been published, but Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, and Greece are among those backing the proposal.
Participating countries expect to see the implementation of return hubs begin as early as this year. Potential host countries have not been identified yet, but discussions are already underway with several partners across Africa and Central Asia, including Rwanda, Ghana, Senegal, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Ethiopia, Uganda, Uzbekistan, and Kazakhstan.
