Five EU Nations Edge Toward Deal on Migrant 'Return Hubs' by 2027
The Europa building in Brussels, seat of the European Council and the Council of the European Union (file photo, 2015). Photo: Fred Romero, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Germany, Austria, Greece, Denmark and the Netherlands are working toward a deal to send migrants without legal residency to 'return hubs' outside the EU by 2027, a plan human-rights groups warn carries serious risks.
Germany, Austria, Greece, Denmark and the Netherlands — an informal "Group of Five" — are moving toward an agreement to send migrants who have no legal right to remain in the EU to so-called "return hubs" built outside the bloc, with a target date of 2027. The countries have not disclosed where the centres would be located, referring only to an unspecified "partner country" outside the EU.
The group is due to reconvene in Munich at the end of September to advance planning, and officials say they expect to reach "a common understanding with a partner country" around the start of 2027. The push follows an overhaul of EU migration policy approved by the European Parliament in June 2026, which was designed to speed up deportations and allow member states to set up return facilities abroad.
The plan has drawn criticism from human-rights organisations. The Council of Europe has warned the hubs pose "considerable human rights risks," while the Danish Refugee Council said they "will not stop people from taking even more dangerous routes, and they could violate basic human rights." Danish Immigration Minister Morten Bodskov defended the approach, calling it "a new chance to have a life in a partner country," though he did not provide further detail on how the hubs would operate.
The proposal is still in an early, non-binding stage, and no partner country has yet been named publicly.