Is the EU considering a Rwanda-style asylum system?

German police officers stand guard at a border with France, as all German land borders are subject to random controls to protect internal security and reduce irregular migration, in Kehl, Germany, September 16, 2024. REUTERS/Joachim Herrmann
explainer

German police officers stand guard at a border with France, as all German land borders are subject to random controls to protect internal security and reduce irregular migration, in Kehl, Germany, September 16, 2024. REUTERS/Joachim Herrmann

What’s the context?

In major policy shift, EU considers "return hubs" for irregular migrants as attitudes to migration harden across the bloc

  • EU to explore deals with non-EU countries for return hubs

  • Italy-Albania deal possible model for external processing

  • Rights groups say policy protects borders not lives

BRUSSELS - The European Union is considering the creation of "return hubs" outside the bloc to increase and fast-track deportations of rejected asylum seekers, as part of a package of new measures aimed at hardening its stance on migration.

At an Oct. 17-18 summit in Brussels, EU leaders agreed to expedite deportations and asked the European Commission to draft a law to do so. The move comes after a slew of elections this year saw support for anti-immigration, far-right parties grow across the continent.

The plan to boost deportations has echoes of the United Kingdom’s controversial plan to fly asylum seekers from Britain to Rwanda, a proposal that was scrapped by the new Labour Party government when it took office in July.

But the EU proposal contains a few key differences.

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Here's what you need to know:

What is being proposed?

EU leaders agreed in Brussels to use all leverage, "including diplomacy, development, trade and visas" to speed up returns of migrants illegally entering the bloc.

EU leaders also discussed setting up "return hubs" in countries outside the EU, where migrants whose EU asylum bids were refused could await deportation to their home country, providing it was safe to return them there.

Details on how return hubs will be organised, how long a migrant could be kept in a hub and what to do if a return to the home country was not possible are still up for discussion.

In a letter to EU leaders ahead of the summit promoting "return hubs", European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen noted the start of operations in Italy to send migrants to Albania for asylum processing this Monday, and said they could "draw lessons" from the experience.

The aim is to relieve pressure on strained asylum processing centres, ensure migrants who are expelled from one EU country do not relocate to another country, and deter migrants from taking dangerous routes to get to Europe.

Out of 484,000 non-EU citizens ordered to leave the EU last year, only 20% returned home, but numbers are rising. Of the more than 96,000 non-EU citizens ordered to leave an EU country in the second quarter of 2024, 25,000 were returned to third countries, representing an increase of 21.3% compared with the same quarter of 2023.

France deported the highest number of non-EU citizens in the quarter, with 3,555 individuals returned to another country. Germany followed with 2,830 individuals.

Among non-EU citizens ordered to leave an EU country, Algerian nationals constituted the largest share, followed by citizens from Morocco, Turkey, Syria and Afghanistan.

More details on the next legislative steps are expected when the European Commission's new term begins, likely in December.

Migrants wait for a bus to return from the beach to their camp, at Calais train station, in Calais, France, April 23, 2024. REUTERS/Abdul Saboor

Migrants wait for a bus to return from the beach to their camp, at Calais train station, in Calais, France, April 23, 2024. REUTERS/Abdul Saboor

Migrants wait for a bus to return from the beach to their camp, at Calais train station, in Calais, France, April 23, 2024. REUTERS/Abdul Saboor

Why is the EU proposing this now?

Facilitating deportations has been a long-term priority for the EU, but previous efforts to revise rules on returns have failed.

New rules to overhaul migration management - the Migration Pact agreed in May - are not due to be implemented until mid-2026, leaving the bloc in a complicated transition period.

Von der Leyen's proposal comes amid growing public support in some countries for politicians calling for tougher controls, and governments are adapting their policies in response.

Germany reintroduced temporary border checks in September, following a mass stabbing linked to a suspected Islamic State member from Syria.

Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk has said his country would temporarily suspend the right to asylum while France, Denmark, Sweden, Austria, Italy and Slovenia have also introduced border checks.

How do the new proposals differ from the UK's Rwanda scheme?

Some U.K. newspapers are noting similarities between the EU proposal and Britain's scrapped Rwanda-scheme, which would have required people arriving illegally in Britain to be sent to the central African country, even if their asylum requests could eventually have been accepted.

Speaking at press conference following the Brussels summit, von der Leyen noted that for asylum seekers who require protection, removal to safe third countries is being discussed, while those who have no right to remain would be taken to "return hubs".

So far no countries have been earmarked to host such "return hubs". The Dutch government is considering a plan to send rejected asylum seekers to Uganda, but acknowledged it might not be feasible.

The new EU proposal could also take inspiration from a deal signed between Italy and Albania in 2023, von der Leyen has suggested. Under the accord, selected migrants picked up at sea will be sent directly to Albania, where their asylum requests will be assessed by Italian personnel under Italian jurisdiction.

Successful applicants will be allowed to enter Italian territory, while those whose requests are rejected will be taken to Italy and put in holding centres until they can be deported to their home countries.

Italy says it would only send up to 36,000 non-vulnerable people from its list of safe countries to Albania, meaning these are people who would have little chance of obtaining asylum in any case.

Migrants disembark from the Italian navy ship Libra that arrived in Albania as part of a deal with Italy to process thousands of asylum-seekers caught near Italian waters, in Shengjin, Albania, October 16, 2024. REUTERS/Florion Goga

Migrants disembark from the Italian navy ship Libra that arrived in Albania as part of a deal with Italy to process thousands of asylum-seekers caught near Italian waters, in Shengjin, Albania, October 16, 2024. REUTERS/Florion Goga

Migrants disembark from the Italian navy ship Libra that arrived in Albania as part of a deal with Italy to process thousands of asylum-seekers caught near Italian waters, in Shengjin, Albania, October 16, 2024. REUTERS/Florion Goga

Will it work and what are the human rights concerns?

The proposal to offshore asylum procedures to non-EU countries raises a number of legal, ethical and financial questions.

Rights groups point to uncertainty around how people's rights will be safeguarded outside the EU, how people will access legal advice, and the lack of guarantees that children or vulnerable people will not be sent to "return hubs".

"This latest idea is simply another bid by EU leaders to keep people on the move out of sight and out of mind, and is not a sustainable solution to (Europe's) migration challenges," the International Rescue Committee's EU advocacy director Marta Welander said in written comments.

The policy would fail to act as deterrent, she added and "merely force (migrants) into the hands of traffickers and onto ever more dangerous routes."

Human Rights Watch has said the Italy-Albania deal is in breach of international law and is "all but guaranteed to violate people's rights".

Returns are also costly to execute and require the cooperation of the receiving country, which can be challenging when there are no diplomatic ties between countries, such as between Syria or Afghanistan and many EU countries.

However, Germany resumed deportations of convicted criminals of Afghan origin back to their home country in August in a deal mediated by Qatar, meaning Germany did not have to negotiate directly with the Taliban.

It marked a U-turn after Berlin stopped returning people to Afghanistan because of human rights concerns after the Taliban took power in 2021.

(Reporting by Joanna Gill; Editing by Clar Ni Chonghaile.)

This story was updated on 18 October to reflect new information after the EU summit.


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