“Out of sight?” EU lawmakers fight over migrant return hubs on The Ring

Published on 08/04/2026 - 20:30 GMT+2

After years of moving intimately connected EU migration files and spending hours successful tense committee meetings, this week MEPs Juan Fernando López Aguilar and Lena Düpont conscionable connected The Ring. Vehemently opposed connected however to grip EU asylum procedures, they took wholly antithetic stances connected the caller EU betterment that would let EU subordinate states to found alleged “migration instrumentality hubs” successful 3rd countries.

The measure, voted connected 26 March, would spot rejected asylum seekers beryllium transferred to outer facilities extracurricular EU borders portion awaiting instrumentality to their state of origin. Supporters accidental it could assistance code a long-standing spread successful the system.

For German MEP Lena Düpont from the centre-right European People’s Party, the argumentation is agelong overdue.

“This is the missing portion of the puzzle,” she said, arguing that the EU has already invested heavy successful its asylum strategy but lacks an effectual instrumentality mechanism. With lone astir 20% of those ordered to permission really returned, she stressed that “an effectual instrumentality argumentation is crucial.”

But Juan Fernando López Aguilar from the Socialists & Democrats powerfully opposed this approach.

“Return hubs are not the reply — peculiarly erstwhile they are extracurricular the borders of the European Union,” helium said, informing that specified centres “have nary guarantees of respect for cardinal rights” and hazard placing migrants beyond the remit of EU law.

López Aguilar besides accused the centre-right of aligning with far-right groups to propulsion done tougher migration measures.

“There’s been a caller majority,” helium said, criticising what helium sees arsenic a displacement toward much hardline policies.

This occurrence of The Ring is anchored by Méabh Mc Mahon, produced by Luis Albertos and Amaia Echevarria, and edited by Vassilis Glynos.

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