Member States team up to promote the creation of return hubs in third countries

On the sidelines of the Informal Meeting of the Ministers of Justice and Home Affairs of the European Union, taking place in Nicosia on 22 and 23 January, the Greek Minister of Immigration and Asylum participated in a closed high-level working meeting with the Ministers and high representatives of Germany, Austria, the Netherlands and Denmark, in the presence of the European Commissioner for Immigration and Home Affairs, Magnus Brunner.

The meeting was held at the initiative of Germany and marked the formation of a close core of member states, consisting of Germany, the Netherlands, Austria, Denmark and Greece. The aim was to promote and foster operational specialisation for new solutions in the field of the return of illegal immigrants. The focus of the discussions was the prospect of creating and operating "return hubs", within the framework of the external dimension of European migration policy.

During the work, it was agreed to immediately start consultations between the participating states to explore the possibility of establishing return hubs in a third country outside the European continent, as well as to design a clear and realistic roadmap for the next steps of the initiative.

More information is available here.