European lawmakers are scheduled to endorse new migration measures this week that would enable the creation of so-called “return hubs” for migrants whose asylum applications have been rejected.

A European Parliament committee is expected to hold an initial vote before a possible plenary ballot later in the week. European Union (EU) member countries have already backed the proposals, which were first introduced by the European Commission in 2025.

If accepted, the rules would let migrants ordered to leave the EU to be transferred to facilities outside the bloc while arrangements are made for their eventual return to their countries of origin. The package also anticipates stricter penalties for those who refuse to comply with deportation orders, including detention and entry bans.

European governments are turning to tightening migration policies amid public anti-migrant sentiments and electoral gains by far-right parties across the EU. Although irregular border crossings and asylum applications both declined in 2025, EU officials say the focus has shifted toward bolstering the return system, which currently sees roughly one in five deportation orders carried out.

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Which EU countries are hoping to externalize return centers?

Several EU countries are already working on plans to implement return hubs. Germany, the Netherlands, Austria, Denmark and Greece have agreed on a "roadmap" to develop return centers outside Europe, news agency Reuters reported on Thursday (March 5). The initiative targets migrants who must leave the EU but cannot immediately be returned to their home countries.

“From Europe, deportations must be effectively enforced,” German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt told the newspaper Bild on the sidelines of a meeting of EU interior ministers in Brussels on Thursday (March 5). He added that “With ‘return hubs,’ new possibilities are to be created and a clear signal for more returns is to be sent.”

In previous talks led by the Netherlands, Uganda had been discussed as a possible partner country, though the political environment in the East African country has complicated the prospect of a migrant transit hub.

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Hubs can pose 'systematic rights violations'

Some EU members including France and Spain have expressed doubts about whether offshore return centres would work in practice. Austria, Germany, and Nordic countries, meanwhile, hope the centres will dissuade migrants from trying to reach Europe irregularly in the first place.

Rights group Amnesty International warned the measures carry “grave risks of systematic human rights violations” while other opponents of the hubs argue they could lead to increased surveillance and discrimination.

Legal obstacles may also challenge the implementation of the hubs. Courts have previously blocked or restricted similar initiatives attempted by countries such as Italy and the UK. The plan would operate alongside the EU’s new Common European Asylum System (GEAS), approved by the German parliament last week and due to take effect in June, which includes provisions allowing such arrangements. Negotiations between lawmakers and EU member states are then expected to continue before a final version of the legislation is adopted.

With AFP and Reuters