Five EU states push 'return hubs' for rejected migrants by 2027

Five European Union countries are seeking an agreement with an unnamed non-EU country to host a "return hub" for migrants whose asylum applications have been rejected, according to a Danish minister's statement reported by The Local Italy on Friday. The targeted start date for the facility is January 1 next year, the minister said.

The proposal comes as EU interior ministers gather to discuss migration policy, a file on which Italy's government has sought to position itself as a hard-line but pragmatic partner for northern European states. Rome has long pressed for faster returns of those without the right to stay, arguing that the burden of managing arrivals falls disproportionately on southern member states.