Negotiators have clinched a deal on the EU’s long-awaited returns regulation, paving the way for the creation of controversial ‘return hubs’ outside the bloc as part of a broader overhaul of deportation rules.

Under the agreement, EU countries will be able to establish return centres – facilities abroad where rejected asylum seekers and irregular migrants can be transferred before deportation – provided an arrangement is in place with a host country.

The breakthrough follows weeks of negotiations that nearly collapsed last month over a dispute about when the new rules should take effect.

As part of the compromise, several key provisions will enter into force immediately. These include the legal framework for return hubs, the creation of a “European Return Order” designed to facilitate recognition of deportation decisions across EU countries – although participation will initially remain voluntary – and provisions aimed at strengthening the use of migration policy in the bloc’s external relations.

The remainder of the regulation will apply one year after its formal adoption.

The implementation timetable emerged as the central sticking point in the talks. EU governments had pushed for a two-year delay, while the European Parliament demanded immediate application of the entire regulation.

“This landmark agreement strengthens the credibility of the EU’s migration policy,” said Nicholas Ioannides, Cyprus’ deputy migration minister, whose country currently holds the rotating presidency of the Council of the EU.

The regulation was approved by the European Parliament in March with backing from centre-right, conservative, eurosceptic and far-right lawmakers, highlighting the bloc’s increasingly restrictive approach to migration under the current Commission. Socialists, Greens and Left groups largely opposed the proposal.

“This is not just another piece of legislation, but the condition for regaining control of migration policy in Europe,” said François-Xavier Bellamy, the European People’s Party’s lead negotiator on the file.

The negotiations were also overshadowed by controversy after leaked group chat exchanges appeared to show close coordination between the centre-right EPP and populist and far-right groups, despite a pledge not to cooperate with them.

Magnus Brunner, European Commissioner for Migration, welcomed the agreement, describing it as another step in the overhaul of the bloc’s migration system. “This is what citizens expect, and this is what we are delivering,” he said.

Mélissa Camara, the Greens’ lead negotiator on the file, condemned the deal and vowed to continue fighting it when it comes before Parliament’s plenary session.

The provisional agreement still requires formal approval from both the Council and Parliament before it becomes law. No date has yet been set for the final approval.

(bw, cz)