DistantNews
Support us
🇶🇦 Qatar /Elections & Politics

Five EU nations move closer to deal on migrant return hubs by 2027

From Al Jazeera · () English

Translated from English and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources Ongoing story
  • Germany, Austria, Greece, Denmark and the Netherlands aim to reach an agreement this year with a non-EU partner to establish migrant return hubs.
  • The proposed facilities would receive migrants without legal residency, but the host country and locations remain unspecified.
  • Human rights groups and refugee advocates warn that the plan could weaken asylum safeguards and expose migrants to rights violations.

Five European countries are moving toward an arrangement that would send migrants without legal residency to return facilities outside the European Union. Germany, Austria, Greece, Denmark and the Netherlands have agreed on concrete steps, but they have not named the country that could host the centres.

Around New Year, we expect to have a common understanding with a partner country outside of the European Union

· Morten BodskovThe Danish minister described the expected timetable for agreement with a non-EU partner.

The Group of Five expects to reach a common understanding with a non-EU partner around the New Year, Danish Immigration and Integration Minister Morten Bodskov said at a news conference in Copenhagen. He described the proposal as a new chance for people to build a life in a partner country. The group says it will consult the International Organization for Migration and UNHCR, although a UNHCR spokesperson said the agency had not received details and could not comment.

The countries plan to meet again in Munich at the end of September. German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said they wanted to conclude agreements with third countries this year that would allow return hubs to be established.

to reach an agreement with third countries this year that will enable the establishment of return hubs

· Alexander DobrindtGermany’s interior minister confirmed the group’s goal.

The initiative follows the European Parliament’s June approval of changes to migration policy designed to speed up deportations and allow member states to establish centres abroad. Critics say the changes could weaken protections for asylum seekers. The Council of Europe has warned of “considerable human rights risks.”

considerable human rights risks

· Council of EuropeThe organization’s warning about the proposed return facilities.

Charlotte Slente, secretary-general of the Danish Refugee Council, argued that governments should instead implement the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum. She said return hubs would affect only a small number of cases, would not stop people from taking more dangerous routes and could violate basic human rights.

Return hubs focus on a small number of returns; they will not stop people from taking even more dangerous routes, and they could violate basic human rights

· Charlotte SlenteThe Danish Refugee Council secretary-general criticized the proposed policy.
About this summary

Originally published by Al Jazeera in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

More Stories

From Our Blog