Greece, Germany, Austria, Denmark, and the Netherlands are moving ahead with plans to establish deportation centers outside the European Union, with the first facility potentially beginning operations in Africa in 2027.
Danish Interior Minister Morten Bødskov said discussions among the five countries were progressing well.
“When it comes to return hubs, it’s progressing very well,” Bødskov told reporters as he arrived at an EU meeting after talks with ministers from the other four countries involved in the initiative.
“We are moving in the right direction,” he said, without providing further details.
Germany’s Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said the countries had held “preliminary” discussions with potential partner nations, but declined to identify them. He said further work was needed to ensure that any agreements would withstand potential legal challenges.
“These agreements are meant to be sustainable in the long term,” Dobrindt said, adding that he remained hopeful that the first agreement could be concluded by the end of the year.
The discussions in Luxembourg come as anti-immigration parties have gained support in several EU countries, including recent gains by Germany’s AfD.
EU ministers were also preparing to give final approval to tougher migration rules that would allow member states to establish return hubs and expand detention powers for people facing removal.
The meeting agenda included discussions on “enhanced cooperation” with priority non-EU countries to facilitate the return of people who do not have the right to remain in the bloc.
EU Migration Commissioner Magnus Brunner said particular attention was being given to Pakistan and Bangladesh, which he described as major starting points for migration routes into Europe. From there, migrants often travel through the Gulf and Egypt toward Libya, where many attempt to cross the Mediterranean by boat.
“We have to start getting engaged at a very early stage,” Brunner said.
Meanwhile, two European lawmakers from the Greens group said Rwandan officials had told them that Rwanda was negotiating with the five EU countries over a possible return-hub agreement.
Greens lawmakers Anna Strolenberg and Tineke Strik, who recently traveled to Rwanda and neighboring Uganda on an exploratory mission, have raised human-rights and other concerns about the proposed return hubs.
“Most likely the first country that a deal will be struck with is Rwanda,” Strolenberg, a Dutch parliamentarian, said during a virtual press conference.
