A coalition of five EU countries pushing to establish offshore “return hubs” for rejected asylum seekers hopes to identify prospective host countries by the autumn, Bart van den Brink, the Dutch migration minister, told Euractiv.

Negotiations may conclude with agreements by the end of the year, as the Netherlands, alongside Denmark, Germany, Austria and Greece, explores possible models and locations for facilities outside the EU to house migrants awaiting deportation after their asylum claims have been rejected.

“We are now in the phase where we have done some talks with countries,” van den Brink said, confirming that any future hubs would be shared among the participating states.

The initiative gained momentum this week after the European Parliament and EU governments reached a provisional agreement on a new returns regulation that explicitly opens the door to so-called return hubs outside the bloc as part of a broader overhaul of EU deportation rules.

The proposal remains controversial, with rights groups and migration advocates warning that outsourcing returns could create legal and human rights risks.

“We have to bring [this] to the table in the fall, to see whether there is any possibility to step out with the names of the countries,” van den Brink said.

Asked whether agreements could be reached before the end of the year, he replied: “That’s the ambition.”

The Dutch minister refused to name potential partner countries, but suggested the search for a partner country is not limited to Africa. “It’s all around Europe,” he said. “So it can be more than just Africa.”

Several officials familiar with the discussions told Euractiv that negotiations among the five countries are already at an advanced stage.

The Dutch minister also acknowledged that potential host countries are seeking broader cooperation packages in exchange for participation.

“The ask from them to us is to broaden up the talks, not only on the returns, but also on migration partnerships, economic developments,” he said.

According to van den Brink, the proposed hubs would not function as detention centres but as temporary facilities for people awaiting return to their countries of origin or another destination.

“It will be a place where they can stay for as long as they want, and then, they can go,” he said.

The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) and the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) are involved in the discussions, he added, citing their experience with reintegration programmes.

“That’s also why IOM and UNHCR are within the talks, because they have the experience on how to bring people back to their country of origin and how to reintegrate people,” he said.

A key unresolved question is who would finance onward travel for migrants wishing to return home from the hubs. “That will be in place in the partnerships,” van den Brink said. “We have to discuss that.”

Last December, a group of EU countries urged the EU executive to move quickly to finance “innovative solutions” on migration, including arrangements that would see asylum seekers processed or returned outside the bloc.

Van den Brink noted that European governments have already funded a range of IOM-led return programmes. “Nowadays, we are funding IOM to help people out from Egypt to Somalia or from Algeria to somewhere else. We are funding all kinds of projects around Europe.”

(bw, mm)