Key facts
- Greece is leading a group of five EU countries pushing for a pilot project to send rejected asylum-seekers to third countries.
- The project aims to be in place by the first half of 2027, with full operation by the second half of the year.
- The designated return countries could include Rwanda, Uganda, and Uzbekistan.
- Greece's Migration Minister Thanos Plevris stated the plan is not about closed centers but about designating return countries.
- The Core Group nations will finance the plan, with hopes for eventual European Commission involvement.
- Greece is also proposing a plan to temporarily suspend asylum applications during emergency migratory pressures.
Greece is spearheading an initiative with four other European Union countries to send asylum-seekers whose applications have been denied to third countries outside the bloc, potentially as early as 2027. Migration Minister Thanos Plevris stated that the goal is to have a pilot project in place by the first half of 2027, with full operation by the second half, coinciding with Greece's presidency of the Council of the EU.
Plevris clarified that the plan does not involve establishing closed facilities in third countries but rather designating countries like Rwanda, Uganda, or Uzbekistan as return destinations. The Core Group of nations—Denmark, Austria, Greece, Germany, and the Netherlands—will finance the project, with the aim of increasing voluntary returns and managing migration flows. Discussions are ongoing with international organizations to establish monitoring processes to ensure human rights are respected in these third countries.
The proposal comes amid a decade-long migration crisis in Europe that has fueled support for populist-nationalist parties. Greece has also faced accusations of violating EU regulations regarding migrant pushbacks. Separately, Greece's Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has previously suggested a mechanism to temporarily suspend asylum applications during emergency migratory pressures.