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yesterday

EU Parliament Approves Tough Returns Regulation Allowing Offshore Return Hubs

The measure shifts the bloc toward faster deportations awaiting formal approval by all 27 member governments.

A cardboard model of a bulldozer burns as demonstrators release colored smoke during a march against racism, war and exploitation and in support of migrants’ rights in Rome, Italy, June 13, 2026. REUTERS/Matteo Minnella/File Photo
Members of European Parliament vote the "Plants obtained by certain new genomic techniques and their food and feed" at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, eastern France, on June 17, 2026. (Photo by SEBASTIEN BOZON / AFP via Getty Images)
Immigration has become a hot topic in some European countries, fuelling right-wing calls for tight curbs and even repatriation
Pope Leo met migrants on a recent visit to Spain's Canary Islands, urging them to work hard to integrate but also calling on authorities to help them

Overview

  • The European Parliament voted to adopt the Returns Regulation on Wednesday, June 17, endorsing EU-wide rules to speed up removal of people found not to have a right to stay.
  • The law broadens enforcement tools by allowing detention of non-cooperating or flight‑risk third‑country nationals for up to 24 months and mutual recognition of return decisions across member states.
  • The text permits member states to transfer rejected applicants to so‑called return hubs in non‑EU countries and opens the door to EU funding and bilateral hub deals that some states are already exploring.
  • Human‑rights groups and the U.N. warned the rules risk expanded detention, weaker safeguards against refoulement, and legal limbo where oversight is limited, and some governments including France and Spain oppose funding for hubs.
  • The regulation still needs formal ratification by all 27 governments before it takes effect and faces practical hurdles such as securing partner countries, concluding readmission deals, and overcoming past legal and operational setbacks that kept return rates under 30 percent.