Five EU Nations Agree on Migrant ‘Return Hubs’ Outside Europe, Target 2027

Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Austria and Greece have agreed on a model for “return hubs” in non-EU countries and hope to begin sending migrants to the facilities as early as 2027, officials said Friday. The announcement followed a one-day meeting in Copenhagen and marks the latest step in Europe's efforts to send people whose asylum claims have been rejected to third countries outside the bloc.

The five countries are negotiating with potential partner governments, mainly in Africa, although no host country has been identified. Danish Immigration and Integration Minister Morten Bødskov said the initiative could represent a “fundamental transformation” of Europe's migration and asylum system. The group expects to reach its first agreement with a third country by early 2027, while the ministers are expected to continue technical discussions on potential partners.

The proposed hubs would target people who have already received return decisions and have no legal right to remain in the EU but cannot be immediately sent back to their countries of origin. The initiative follows the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum, which became applicable on June 12, 2026, and new EU return rules approved in June allowing member states to establish return hubs outside the bloc. The framework includes safeguards such as non-refoulement, while unaccompanied minors cannot be transferred to such hubs.

The policy addresses Europe's persistent return problem. Only 28% of people ordered to leave the EU were effectively returned in 2025, although that was the bloc's highest return rate in a decade. Meanwhile, irregular border crossings fell 26% in 2025, following a 38% decline in 2024, shifting political attention increasingly toward enforcement and returns.

Rwanda has emerged as a potentially important partner because Kigali already has experience hosting refugees and asylum seekers transferred from Libya. Since 2019, Rwanda, the African Union and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) have operated an Emergency Transit Mechanism (ETM) in Gashora for vulnerable people evacuated voluntarily from Libya. More than 3,000 people have been received through the mechanism, with 2,623 subsequently resettled in third countries. Rwanda has continued receiving evacuees, demonstrating that it has existing infrastructure and experience in managing such international arrangements.

Rwandan government spokesperson Yolande Makolo said Kigali was open to discussions with European governments, describing the potential role as part of efforts to address a wider global migration challenge. However, Rwanda's existing ETM is a humanitarian and temporary protection mechanism, rather than a deportation facility, meaning any future agreement to host rejected migrants from Europe would represent a substantially different arrangement. The UNHCR said it had not been approached with details of the proposed return-hub plan and therefore could not comment on any potential role.

The initiative faces strong human-rights concerns. Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights Michael O'Flaherty warned that safeguards must prevent “human rights black holes,” while rights group PICUM accused European governments of outsourcing migration control. Critics are particularly concerned about detention conditions, access to lawyers, judicial oversight and the ability to enforce European human-rights standards once migrants are transferred outside EU territory.

The experience of Italy-Albania also highlights potential legal, financial and operational challenges for offshore migration arrangements. For the five EU governments, the next challenge is to secure a willing partner, agree on funding and administration, establish independent oversight and demonstrate that return hubs can increase removals without undermining migrants' fundamental rights.