EU lawmakers vote to make it easier to set up migrant detention centers outside the bloc
AP News • • world
Key Points:
- The European Parliament voted 389-206 to facilitate the establishment of migrant detention centers, or "return hubs," outside the EU, allowing member states to deport migrants to facilities outside the 27-nation bloc.
- Countries including Greece, Germany, the Netherlands, Austria, and Denmark are negotiating with mainly African governments to host these centers for migrants denied asylum.
- The vote saw an unusual alliance between right-wing and far-right parties, with proponents viewing it as a new era of deportations, while left and center parties opposed the measure.
- Human rights groups criticized the decision as a significant setback for refugee rights, warning it could lead to harsher, punitive asylum policies that undermine legal protections.
- Opponents also expressed concern that the "return hubs" would be located far from Europe, where fundamental rights might not be effectively monitored, and condemned the centrist groups for aligning with far-right parties to pass the measure.
