EU countries on Monday approved a significant tightening of Europe's immigration policy, including endorsing the concept of setting up "return hubs" for migrants outside the 27-nation bloc,
France 24 reports.
Fearful of far-right parties making gains at the ballot box, governments across Europe are scrambling to take a tougher stance.
Interior ministers meeting in Brussels will vote for the first time on a series of measures presented this year by the bloc's executive to more strictly regulate the arrival and return of migrants.
If adopted, these measures would notably allow:
– The opening of centres outside the EU's borders to which migrants whose asylum applications have been rejected would be sent, the so-called "return hubs".
– Harsher penalties for migrants who refuse to leave European territory, including through longer periods of detention.
– Returning migrants to countries that are not their countries of origin, but which Europe considers "safe".
A decline in irregular entries to Europe – down by around 20 percent so far in 2025 compared to last year – has not eased the pressure to act on the politically explosive issue.
The latest proposals come just a few months after the EU adopted a mammoth new migration law that will come into effect in June.
"We have to speed up," said EU migration commissioner Magnus Brunner, "to give the people the feeling that we have control over what is happening."
