Should the EU set up migrant return centres outside the bloc — and if so, where and for whom? European home affairs ministers began thrashing out the explosive question during talks Thursday in Warsaw.
The “informal meeting” — the EU version of a brainstorming session — comes as hard-right electoral gains in several countries led to a hardening of Brussels’ posture on irregular arrivals.
Currently, less than 20 per cent of people ordered to leave the bloc are returned to their country of origin, according to EU data.
“That’s why we are working on new rules, on tighter rules,” said Magnus Brunner, the EU commissioner in charge of migration.
Poland, which took over the EU’s rotating presidency this month, is among a group of immigration hawks pushing for a speedy reform of the bloc’s rules on deportations.
Warsaw has been rattled by what it says is an artificial influx of people orchestrated by neighbouring Belarus as part of a Russian-led hybrid warfare campaign against the West.
In Oct., the EU leaders called for urgent new legislation on returns and for the European Commission to assess new ways to prevent and counter irregular migration.
Among the more radical ideas on the table is that of “return hubs” outside the European Union where failed asylum seekers could be sent pending transfer to their country of origin.
The concept is fraught with legal and ethical concerns — that home affairs ministers are expected to try to iron out in Warsaw.
“It’s a complicated subject,” said Francois-Noel Buffet, France’s junior home affairs minister, citing “non-negligible legal aspects.”
Costs, the legal regime applicable to people hosted in these centres, and the situation of those who cannot be returned are among the issues to be clarified before hubs could be considered a serious alternative, said a former senior commission official close to the file.
Finding countries willing to host them will be another challenge, the ex-official said, adding that one of the main benefits of the plan was its potential to discourage would-be migrants.
Two Italian-run centres to process some migrants rescued in the Mediterranean in Albania are estimated to cost Rome €160 million ($175 million) annually.
‘Ill-conceived’
Italy, along with Denmark, Austria, and the Netherlands, is among those pushing for return hubs.
But diplomats say consensus is still a long way off.
Some countries back the idea but oppose the creation of hubs at their borders, fearful of witnessing a potential flow of migrants trying to re-enter the EU, diplomats say.
Spain has outright rejected the idea, citing concerns about the respect for human rights.
Madrid prefers “promoting a preventive migration policy based on bilateral cooperation with the countries of origin and transit” in the fight against people traffickers, according to sources within Spain’s interior ministry.
Contentious deals struck with Tunisia, Libya, and others providing aid and investments in return for help with curbing arrivals have been credited with contributing to a marked drop in arrivals.
Detections of irregular migrants entering the European Union fell by 38 per cent last year to the lowest level recorded since 2021, according to the EU’s border agency.
On Wednesday, Brussels promised €3 billion ($3.1 billion) of financing and investments for Jordan as part of a new “strategic” partnership, which includes cooperation on migration matters.
Hubs could nevertheless be mentioned in a plan to overhaul the EU return system the commission has promised for March, though observers believe the wording is likely to be deliberately vague.
Yet, the prospect worries rights groups.
“Before they pursue ill-conceived attempts to shift or offshore their responsibilities to third countries, EU member states and the European Commission should take a close look at their legal obligations,” dozens of NGOs including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International wrote in Nov.
