Five EU countries—Denmark, Greece, Austria, Germany and the Netherlands—are working to create “return hubs” to process the departure of migrants whose asylum applications are rejected. The plan is to agree a shared model for the hubs and then negotiate arrangements with a non-EU partner country to host them.
Denmark hosts talks on the initiative, and Danish officials describe it as an effort to speed up returns through detention and removal-focused facilities outside Europe. One source says a first agreement is expected around the New Year, while another reports a targeted start date of January 1. The countries involved have not named the non-EU partner country, and details of how the hubs would operate are to be negotiated.
Some reporting links the initiative to recent EU legislative changes that expand detention powers and enable the creation of return-focused hubs. Overall, outlets agree on the key elements: the five participating EU states, the aim of establishing hubs outside the EU, and the target timeline leading into 2027.
