Five nations within the European Union are advancing plans to deport asylum seekers whose claims have been denied to third-party countries outside the bloc, potentially targeting locations in Africa. This development follows the EU’s recent approval of regulations that facilitate this practice.
Greece, Germany, Austria, Denmark, and the Netherlands have reached a consensus on a framework to create “return hubs” beyond EU borders. These hubs would serve as transfer points for individuals who have exhausted all legal avenues to remain in Europe and cannot be returned to their home countries.
Danish Interior Minister Morten Bødskov expressed optimism about the progress in establishing these return hubs during a news briefing on Thursday, stating, “We are moving in the right direction.” He indicated Denmark aims to initiate the transfer of its first irregular migrants to a partner nation outside the EU by 2027.
Greek Migration Minister Thanos Plevris revealed plans for a pilot project to be operational by the first half of next year, as reported by Politico.
While no specific locations for the return hubs have been confirmed, Rwanda has emerged as a potential partner in this initiative. A statement from the Greek government noted that the hubs would be set up in safe third countries, particularly in Africa.
The EU has framed the concept of return hubs as a potential deterrent against irregular immigration. A discussion paper from the EU’s governing European Council, published in October 2025, suggested that these hubs could encourage voluntary returns, as migrants who do not comply with deportation orders might be sent to a hub instead.
This policy aims to dissuade individuals without valid asylum claims from embarking on perilous journeys to Europe.
The regulations adopted by the EU this week create a comprehensive legal framework for returns across the bloc and permit member states to establish bilateral or unilateral agreements with non-EU countries, albeit with certain conditions.
According to the new rules, “any such agreement or arrangement may only be concluded with a non-EU country that respects international human rights standards and principles of international law, including the principle of non-refoulement,” which ensures that no individual is returned to a country where they would be at risk of torture or inhumane treatment.
The Trump administration in the United States had previously embraced the strategy of third-country deportations to eliminate undocumented migrants. Internal U.S. government documents obtained by CBS News revealed that over 100 deportees were sent to eight African nations in a ten-day span in August, including Liberia, Rwanda, Eswatini, and Sierra Leone.
Plevris, Greece’s migration minister, has publicly praised Trump’s immigration policies, stating, “I am a fan of President Trump” and attributing significant changes in migration policy in Europe to his administration.
Other European nations have attempted similar deportation strategies to third countries, though with varied success. The former Conservative government in the UK aimed to process asylum claims of individuals arriving through irregular routes in Rwanda, but the scheme was deemed unlawful by the UK Supreme Court in 2023 due to concerns about returning refugees to countries where they faced persecution.
The Labour Party government that succeeded the Conservatives formally abandoned the Rwanda policy the following year, with the British Home Office reporting that £715 million (nearly $950 million) had been spent on the initiative by June 2024, with no asylum seekers forcibly relocated—only four individuals traveled voluntarily.
Peter Walsh, a senior researcher at the University of Oxford’s Migration Observatory, pointed out that European governments should anticipate legal challenges, even when engaging with less controversial third countries than Rwanda. He noted that the justification for these policies as deterrents presupposes a significant belief among migrants that transfer to such hubs is a genuine possibility. If only a small number can be relocated, the deterrent effect may be considerably weakened.
Walsh emphasized that the experience with Rwanda illustrates that externalization of migration policy does not simplify the inherent challenges; rather, it shifts them geographically, requiring governments to navigate legal frameworks, individual rights, administrative capacity, non-cooperative countries, and substantial costs.
The initiative for return hubs reflects a broader movement among European countries to tighten immigration controls amid mounting pressure to increase the number of individuals removed from the region who lack legal rights to remain.
Jacob Reynolds, policy director at the Freedom and Sovereignty Initiative Europe, a right-wing think tank in Brussels, welcomed the EU’s decision to adopt these return hubs as a positive step towards regaining control over borders. However, he cautioned that outsourcing the issue of illegal migration to third countries merely sidesteps the underlying challenge of border control within EU member states.
He called for more fundamental reforms to address the “generous regimes available to asylum seekers in Europe,” arguing that without such changes, the issue will persist.
