The European Parliament's Civil Liberties Committee (LIBE) approved amendments on March 9, 2026, advancing a Commission proposal to send rejected asylum seekers to detention centers in non-EU countries before final deportation.

What is the EU proposing?

The Commission's return regulation, first proposed on March 11, 2025, would replace the 2008 Return Directive. Unlike the older directive, the regulation applies directly across all member states without national implementation. It sits within the wider EU Migration Pact, which takes full effect in June 2026.

Only about 20 to 30 percent of roughly 700,000 annual return orders are currently enforced. The Commission says faster, more coordinated returns are needed. Commission President Ursula von der Leyen made returns a top priority in December 2024, vowing to "draw lessons from Italy-Albania."

What are return hubs?

Return hubs are physical centers in non-EU countries where people with rejected asylum claims wait for deportation. EU states would run them through bilateral agreements with host governments, with no EU-wide binding framework.

The process works as follows:

• An EU country issues a return order after rejecting an asylum claim.
• The person is transferred to a hub in a third country such as Albania or Uganda.
• At the hub: identity checks, travel-document processing, detention if the person resists.
• Final outcome: deportation to home country or transfer to another "safe third country."

Return orders will be mutually recognized across the bloc by July 2027. Funding will come from a 420 million euro annual solidarity pool, with 20,000 euros per avoided relocation, plus development-aid incentives for hosts.

How would they work in practice?

EU states can only host hubs in non-EU countries meeting international human rights standards, including non-refoulement. Bilateral agreements must detail transfer procedures, living conditions, and stay durations.

The Commission's text initially excluded unaccompanied minors and families with children. The Council's December 2025 agreement overturned that exclusion for families, now permitting their transfer alongside adults. The Council approach also confirms hubs can serve as final destinations or transit centers for onward deportation.

The Italy-Albania deal serves as the main blueprint: 670 million euros over five years to process 36,000 people annually at centers in Shëngjin and Gjader.

What changes for migrants?

The new system replaces national procedures with a uniform EU fast-track, with stricter enforcement. A rejected asylum claim in Greece could trigger automatic mutual recognition across the EU, allowing swift transfer to offshore hubs.

The regulation expands Eurodac to store facial images, biometrics, and alphanumeric data from age six. It interoperates with the Schengen Information System for real-time tracking of return orders and absconding risks.

Hub conditions remain unpredictable. Bilateral deals could create variable standards without direct EU oversight. Uganda might offer stability, while Tunisia and Libya carry documented risks of torture and chain-refoulement.

What do rights groups say?

Over 250 organizations warned of broad collection of sensitive data — health and criminal records — being shared with third countries lacking adequate protections.

Silvia Carta, advocacy officer at the Platform for International Cooperation on Undocumented Migrants (PICUM), said: "This new proposal is a lucid attempt to escalate the EU's obsession with deportations, by applying a discriminatory and punitive approach to any person in an irregular situation."

The EU Fundamental Rights Agency has said that "planned return hubs cannot be rights-free zones."

Elizabeth Tan, director of UNHCR's Division of International Protection, told InfoMigrants her agency has "serious protection concerns in Tunisia and Libya." Those countries, she warned, are "not safe countries for refugees and asylum seekers right now. If a European country were proposing an agreement with Libya, we would consider that not to be in line with international standards."

What risks do critics see?

Critics warn host countries could leverage migration deals for cash, creating "rentier states" dependent on migration management income while failing to uphold basic rights. They argue weak oversight could mirror the abuses seen in Libya, boost smuggling networks, and enable torture.

At a January 29, 2026 press conference in Brussels, Commissioner Magnus Brunner called return hubs the "missing piece." Vice-President Henna Virkkunen pushed to "future-proof" migration policy through expanded surveillance and digital tools.

Whether the full Parliament approves the regulation later this year remains uncertain. Practical uncertainties persist, with no clear EU oversight mechanism for extraterritorial violations.