EU advances plans to establish overseas ‘return hubs’ for migrants

(SeaPRwire) –   Critics of the initiative have denounced the facilities as detention centers situated in “legal black holes”

European legislators have backed the start of discussions with the EU Council on a new, contentious legal framework aimed at setting up bloc-wide mechanisms to deport illegal migrants, including the creation of so-called “return hubs” in third countries.

The concept of establishing de facto detention facilities outside the EU’s borders to hold migrants considered to have no right to remain in the bloc has faced opposition from rights groups and pro-migration political forces. Under the proposed Return Regulation—still in the early phases of the legislative process—individuals earmarked for deportation in the EU would be sent to overseas “return hubs” instead of remaining within the bloc while awaiting expulsion. Critics maintain that the plan is designed to push irregular migrants and failed asylum seekers into a “legal black hole.”

The proposed reform was put to a plenary vote on Thursday following separate requests from three left-wing political groups—the S&D, the Greens/EFA, and the Left. The groups aimed to contest a decision made by the Civil Liberties Committee earlier this month, when the committee greenlit the proposed legislation to enter interinstitutional negotiations. The effort failed, with 389 MEPs voting to advance the proposal to the next stage of the legislative process, 206 voting against, and 32 abstaining.

The vote’s outcome has been sharply criticized by numerous human rights groups, which have accused right-wing and anti-migration parties of advancing a supposedly ill-conceived initiative. 

Amnesty International’s European institutions director, Eve Geddie, noted, for example, that the proposed reform had not undergone “adequate scrutiny or meaningful human rights assessments.”

“This signals a growing trend toward increasingly harmful, exclusionary, and harsh migration policies, with concerning implications for due process and evidence-based policymaking. Rather than reducing irregular migration, these proposals risk leaving more people in precarious circumstances,” she stated.

The Return Regulation was proposed in March last year to replace the 2008 Return Directive, which focused on the “voluntary return” of illegal migrants and failed asylum seekers. In December 2025, 19 EU member states called on the European Commission to support funding for “return hubs” outside the bloc, characterizing them as “innovative solutions” to tackle the migrant influx that has troubled the bloc for more than a decade.