EU return hubs plan leaves Molise's empty towns out of migration debate

Five European Union countries are seeking a deal with an unnamed non-EU country to host a 'return hub' for migrants whose asylum applications have been rejected, with a targeted start date of January 1, a Danish minister said Friday, according to The Local Italy.

The proposal, which would see rejected asylum seekers transferred to facilities outside the bloc, is being pushed by a coalition of member states including Denmark, with the aim of streamlining deportations that have long proven administratively and legally fraught across Europe.

For Molise, the smallest and one of the emptiest regions in Italy, the debate over where to send people who cannot stay in Europe carries a particular irony: this is a land that cannot keep its own people, let alone attract newcomers.

The return hub plan, first reported by The Local Italy on Friday, would mark a significant shift in EU migration policy if realised. Denmark's migration minister confirmed that five countries are working toward an agreement with a third country to host the facilities, with operations slated to begin on January 1. The proposal echoes earlier attempts by Denmark to externalise asylum processing, most notably its 2021 law allowing for asylum seekers to be processed in third countries.

The plan has drawn criticism from human rights groups who argue that transferring rejected asylum seekers to countries outside the EU's legal framework risks creating legal grey zones where detention and returns could evade judicial oversight. Supporters counter that the hubs would deter irregular migration and resolve the practical deadlock of deportations to countries that refuse to take back their nationals.

Italy's role in the initiative remains unclear from the reporting, though the country has been a primary entry point for Mediterranean crossings and has repeatedly called for greater EU solidarity on returns. The Italian government has in recent years pushed for faster deportations and has explored agreements with North African countries to stem departures.

For Molise, the migration debate is almost entirely theoretical. The region has one of Italy's lowest foreign-resident populations, and its municipalities have spent years courting the opposite flow: offering homes for one euro or paying people to move in. The region's villages, some with fewer than 200 residents, have become symbols of a national demographic crisis that sees young Italians leave for northern Europe while the EU argues over who may enter.

The irony is not lost on those who track the region's decline. As Brussels and national capitals debate the mechanics of removing people from EU territory, Molise's mayors struggle with schools that close for lack of pupils and streets that empty after the last bus departs. The region's experience suggests a different kind of migration problem — not how to send people away, but how to convince anyone to stay.

The return hub proposal is expected to be discussed at upcoming EU interior minister meetings, with the Danish minister expressing confidence that a framework could be agreed before the January target. Whether Italy's smallest region features in that discussion is another matter entirely.