Send rejected asylum-seekers out of EU ASAP, urges Greek minister

ATHENS — Greece is spearheading a group of five EU countries pushing for migrants who have been denied the right to stay in the EU to be sent to countries such as Rwanda from as early as next year. Greece’s Migration Minister Thanos Plevris said in an interview that by the first half of 2027, the so-called Core Group of nations — Denmark, Austria, Greece, Germany and the Netherlands — aims to have a pilot project in place to send rejected asylum-seekers to designated countries outside the bloc. He added that the project should be fully operational by the second half of the year — coinciding with Greece taking over the rotating presidency of the Council of the EU in July.