Five EU countries plan to open a return center in Africa in 2027 — Deutsche Welle
Greece, Germany, Austria, Denmark and the Netherlands plan to open the first joint return center outside the EU in the second half of 2027. It is to be located in an African country whose name has not yet been disclosed.
Greek Migration Minister Thanos Plevris announced the plans in an interview with the Greek television channel ANT1. According to him, the African state has already been selected, but he did not name it. Rwanda and Uganda had previously been mentioned in diplomatic circles and EU-affiliated media as possible locations, but there has been no official confirmation, Deutsche Welle English reports.
Open centers to prepare returns
Plevris stressed that these would not be closed facilities for people whose asylum applications have been rejected. The plan provides for the creation of open centers where people would stay while arrangements are made for their final return to their country of origin.
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Responsibility for the transferred persons, according to the initiators’ plan, would remain with the five EU states rather than being transferred to the African partner country. These countries are also expected to fully finance the project. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the International Organization for Migration are also planned to be involved in overseeing the centers’ operations.
New rules and previous experience
Updated EU rules allow people who must leave the European Union to be transferred to a safe third country without a prior personal connection to it, provided that a relevant agreement or arrangement exists. The Council of the EU and the European Parliament reached a political agreement on the EU return regulation on June 17, 2026, but the document still requires formal approval by the Council of the EU.
Previous schemes to move asylum procedures or deportations outside the EU have encountered legal obstacles, changes of government and high costs. In particular, the UK Supreme Court ruled unlawful a plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda because of the risk that they could be returned to countries where they may face persecution. Human rights organizations, including Amnesty International and Doctors Without Borders, have raised concerns about whether independent oversight, legal assistance and medical care can be ensured in such centers.
