Germany, Denmark, Austria, the Netherlands and Greece have agreed on a joint model for return hubs outside the EU, with the first transfers targeted for 2027.
The proposed hubs would accommodate migrants whose asylum applications have been rejected but who cannot be returned to their countries of origin.
That is the gap at the heart of Europe’s migration crisis:
Rejected. Unable to be returned. Yet still remaining in Europe.
European governments have struggled for years to resolve this problem, while deportation systems remain constrained by legal, logistical and diplomatic obstacles.
Potential partner countries have not been officially named, although Uganda and Rwanda have been mentioned as possibilities.
Italy’s arrangement with Albania has already demonstrated just how complicated the practical and legal implementation of such schemes can be.
Europe is now looking for a system that can actually make returns work.
Source: Reuters
