Five European Union countries are seeking a deal with an unnamed non-EU country to host a “return hub” for migrants whose asylum applications have been rejected, with a targeted start date of Jan. 1, a Danish minister said Friday. Denmark, Greece, Austria, Germany, and the Netherlands agreed to the initiative as Copenhagen hosted talks on the creation of migrant detention centres outside Europe. “Around New Year, we expect to have a common understanding with a partner country outside of the European Union,” said Danish Migrations Minister Morten Bodskov. The partner country or countries have not been disclosed, but Uganda and Rwanda in particular are seen as possibilities. Upon arriving at the meeting, Greek Migration and Asylum Minister Thanos Plevris said the goal was to have “the return hub operational in a country outside the European Union by 2027.” Earlier Friday, Denmark said it was ready to send rejected asylum seekers to such hubs by the end of 2027, not the start. “We do not accept that foreigners staying illegally in Denmark should be rewarded because of our difficulties in returning them,” Bodskov said in the earlier statement. In June, the European Parliament approved tougher migration rules granting authorities much broader detention powers, and allowing for the creation of “return hubs”. The idea has been severely criticized by human rights groups. Britain abandoned a scheme to deport undocumented migrants to Rwanda, while Italian-run facilities to process migrants in Albania have faced legal challenges and a slow uptake.
