EU Agrees Rules to Deport Rejected Asylum Seekers to Third Countries as Irregular Arrivals Fall 26%

The European Union agreed on Monday to allow member states to send migrants ordered to leave the bloc to third-country return hubs. The legislation, proposed by the European Commission last year, still requires formal approval by EU governments and the European Parliament. Irregular arrivals fell 26 percent last year to their lowest level since 2021.

The European Commission says only about 20 percent of people ordered to leave currently depart. Under the new rules, EU states would be able to establish return hubs outside the bloc for people whose asylum claims have been rejected or who have been ordered to leave the EU. Deportees could be sent to hubs in countries they do not have connections to.

Member states have not disclosed the potential host countries. "With the new rules, we have more control over who can come to the EU, who can stay, and who needs to leave," said European Commissioner Magnus Brunner. The draft legislation extends detention periods and introduces penalties including entry bans, fines and possible criminal sanctions for non-cooperation.

Authorities would be allowed to seize belongings, detain minors, collect biometric data and search homes. The deal also allows authorities to search migrants and relevant premises. "This Regulation is going to create a draconian detention and deportation machine," said Silvia Carta, advocacy officer at the Platform for International Cooperation on Undocumented Migrants.

Minos Mouzourakis, a lawyer and advocacy officer at Refugee Support Aegean, said the draft legislation amounted to a recipe for extremely damaging and extremely dangerous practices in Europe. The Netherlands is working with Denmark, Germany, Greece and Austria to set up joint return and transit hubs. Bilateral talks with Uganda on a similar arrangement have been put on hold.

The Dutch government says it wants concrete steps by year-end. Prime Minister Rob Jetten has called an asylum crisis. Dutch reception centres are overcrowded, including the main registration hub Ter Apel, which has begun admitting only the most vulnerable.

Anti-migration protests have emerged in areas hosting emergency shelters.