EU reaches provisional agreement on expanded deportation

European Union lawmakers and national governments have reached a provisional agreement on new rules that would significantly expand the bloc’s ability to deport migrants, including establishing processing centers in third countries. The deal, part of a broader tightening of EU migration policy, still requires formal approval by the European Parliament and member states.

The legislation would allow EU countries to set up "return hubs" outside the bloc for individuals whose asylum claims have been rejected or who have been ordered to leave. Under the new system, deportees could be sent to these hubs in countries with which they have no prior connection, provided the EU state has an arrangement with that host country. Officials have not disclosed which nations might host such centers.

European Commissioner for Migration Magnus Brunner stated the new rules would give authorities more control over who can enter, stay, and who must leave. The European Commission, which proposed the legislation last year, argues it will streamline procedures and raise the current return rate, which officials say stands at roughly 20 to 28 percent of those ordered to depart.