EU Opens Way for Return Hubs in Third Countries as Asylum Rules Tighten

The European Union has opened the way for “return hubs” in third countries and for tightening asylum rules to enable more deportations, with the Cypriot EU Council Presidency saying representatives of the European Parliament and EU member-state governments reached an agreement in the evening.

“The European Union pushed back discussions until Thursday on a reform of its migration policy, which would allow the creation of centers for migrants outside its territory”

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The plan would transfer rejected asylum seekers to special return centers outside the European Union when they cannot be returned to their countries of origin, including cases where the home country refuses to take them back or where the German government does not maintain diplomatic relations with the affected state.

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The agreement also sets a framework for deportations tied to a prerequisite agreement with a third country, which would host the refugees and, in return, “probably receive money or advantages in the concession of visas.”

The Cypriot EU Council Presidency said the Parliament and EU states must still approve the compromise definitively before the new deportation rules can come into force, a step described as usually a formality.

Germany, together with other EU states, is seeking agreements with countries willing to set up such return hubs, and German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt has repeatedly spoken in favor of the project.

Under the new rules described by Ticinonline, unaccompanied minors should not be expelled, while for families with children this option would exist.

The agreement also lays out how rejected asylum seekers must cooperate in their own expulsion if they do not want to be arrested, with threats across Europe including reduction or revocation of maintenance support or seizure of travel documents.

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Detention pending deportation is possible if member-state officials identify a risk of absconding or a threat to national security, and the permitted maximum detention period is extended “fino a un massimo di 24 mesi” with a possible further six-month extension in special cases.

In parallel, the European Parliament approved the “return regulation” on March 26, with the InfoMigrants account saying it would extend retention from 18 to 24 months and create return hubs outside the EU.

InfoMigrants also reported that unaccompanied minors are not affected, while it said families with minor children can be sent to these centers and that Renew Europe MEP Fabienne Keller protested that “We outsource European migratory policy without control or safeguards.”

The sources tie the push for harder returns to recent deportation and asylum trends, with Ticinonline saying that in 2025 about 28 percent of migrants subject to an obligation to leave the EU territory were repatriated.

““Return Hubs”, longer detention for deportations, and cuts in benefits: The EU plans to drastically tighten its asylum rules”

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Ticinonline also says the number of asylum applications in Germany was at its lowest since 2020, and it links the decline to restrictions during the coronavirus pandemic.

The Washington Post frames the EU’s shift as tightening border controls, speeding deportations, increasing detention times, and moving to deploy “some of the same clenched-fist” tactics.

Euractiv, meanwhile, reports that Danish Immigration Minister Rasmus Stoklund said the returns package would allow the EU and member states to conclude an agreement with a third country on return centers, and it places the deal within the Migration and Asylum Pact due to come into force by June 2026.

Euractiv also quotes Silvia Carta warning that the new proposal “bears the mark of a police state,” arguing that it would allow authorities to enter private homes with broad latitude to enforce expulsions.