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🇬🇷 Greece /Elections & Politics

Reuters: Greece and four other countries ‘plan’ deportation hubs outside the EU

From Kathimerini · () Greek

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

At a glance

News From a news agency New plan
  • Denmark, Austria, Germany, the Netherlands and Greece have agreed on a common model for return hubs outside the European Union.
  • The countries aim to negotiate with unnamed partner governments and expect to be ready by 2027 to transfer irregular migrants whose asylum applications were rejected and who cannot return home.
  • The plan faces criticism from the Council of Europe and other organizations, which have warned of significant human rights risks.

Greece and four other European Union countries have agreed on a common model for deportation hubs outside the bloc, with the first agreement with a partner country expected early next year.

So that we are ready to transfer the first irregular migrants to a partner country outside the EU in 2027.

· Morten BødskovThe Danish immigration minister described the common model as the basis for the countries’ next steps.

Denmark, Austria, Germany, the Netherlands and Greece say they want to establish “return hubs” in one or more countries outside the EU. The facilities would house asylum seekers whose applications had been rejected by the five countries but who could not return to their countries of origin. The partner countries have not yet been named.

The five governments are negotiating the creation of the hubs and expect to be ready by 2027 to send irregular migrants to them. Several media reports have identified Uganda and Rwanda as the most likely options. The countries would fully finance the hubs’ construction and operation, and could offer additional funding, trade partnerships or other incentives to the partner governments.

Prison

· Morten BødskovBødskov said the proposed hubs would not be a prison or detention centre.

The plan followed a meeting of the five interior ministers in Copenhagen on Friday. Danish Immigration Minister Morten Bødskov said the agreement provided the basis for the next steps “so that we are ready to transfer the first irregular migrants to a partner country outside the EU in 2027.” He rejected describing the hubs as a “prison” or “detention centre,” saying they would be facilities where “partner countries give irregular migrants a new opportunity.”

Partner countries give irregular migrants a new opportunity.

· Morten BødskovBødskov described how the Danish government viewed the proposed facilities.

The ministers said the scheme would involve international organizations including the UN refugee agency and the International Organization for Migration, and would comply fully with EU law and international obligations. The Council of Europe said in July that return centres posed “significant human rights risks,” while several other organizations have also criticized the proposal. The ministers are expected to meet again in Munich in late September.

Significant human rights risks

· Council of EuropeThe organization warned about the risks posed by return centres.
About this summary

Originally published by Kathimerini in Greek. 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.

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