Five EU states plan first deportation center in Africa for 2027

Deportation centers are legally contentious, expensive and the subject of political controversy: For years, Brussels has been grappling with the issue of establishing such centers outside the EU for rejected asylum seekers. Previous attempts have failed due to legal objections, but now, a "group of five" consisting of Greece , Germany , Austria , Denmark and the Netherlands believes it has overcome these hurdles . During an interview with the Greek television channel ANT1, Greece's Minister of Migration, Thanos Plevris, stated that the first of these so-called " return hubs " is scheduled to begin operations as early as the second half of 2027 — just in time for Greece to assume the EU Council Presidency.