EU return hubs to be voluntary, subject to safeguards, migration commissioner says

European Commissioner for Internal Affairs and Migration Magnus Brunner said Friday that EU member states will not be obliged to establish return hubs under the bloc’s new migration framework, stressing that any such arrangements with third countries would be voluntary and subject to safeguards set out in EU law.

Speaking at a ministerial conference in Nicosia, Brunner said the European Commission had created the legal basis for return hubs through the proposed return regulation, which would allow EU countries to transfer people with no legal right to remain in the bloc to designated third countries.

However, he stressed that any decision to establish such arrangements would remain voluntary for member states.

Brunner said the return regulation contains safeguards aimed at ensuring compliance with fundamental rights and international law.

“Human rights are non-negotiable, of course not,” he said.

According to Brunner, member states concluding agreements with third countries would be required to submit them to the European Commission, which would monitor whether the safeguards are being respected.

He added that international organizations, including the International Organization for Migration and the UN refugee agency, would also oversee the implementation of such arrangements.

His remarks came as the EU’s Pact on Migration and Asylum entered into force Friday after its adoption in May 2024, overhauling the bloc’s migration and asylum framework and laying the foundation for a new approach to migration management.

He described the new pact as a “milestone” for European migration and asylum policy and said it marked the first time the EU had adopted a comprehensive approach to migration.

Brunner said the pact provides rules that were previously missing and represents “a huge change” in the bloc’s migration policy.

He also stressed the importance of strengthening the EU’s external dimension and expanding the bloc’s leverage through visa policy, trade measures and funding instruments.

Brunner also said the EU was preparing an “ambitious initiative” focused on the eastern migration route used by migrants traveling from Bangladesh and Pakistan through Gulf countries to Egypt and Libya before attempting to reach Europe.

The initiative aims to reduce irregular arrivals through increased engagement with countries along the route, he said.