The European Union has tentatively agreed to establish deportation centers outside Europe.
The European Union has taken a new step towards tightening immigration policy after the Internal Affairs Committee of the European Parliament approved a package of measures aimed at facilitating deportation processes and establishing deportation centers outside the EU's borders. According to the Austrian news agency APA, the proposal may be put to a vote in the European Parliament in the coming days.
The new plan aims to enable EU countries to establish what are known as deportation centers in third countries outside the union. Individuals whose asylum applications have been rejected can be transferred to these centers in preparation for their return to their home countries.
The proposal also includes stricter measures against individuals who refuse to leave the European Union after deportation orders have been issued against them. These measures include imposing a ban on entry to EU countries or even the possibility of detaining them in some cases.
The main objective of these measures is to reduce irregular migration and improve the effectiveness of deportation processes, as data indicates that only a small percentage of individuals who have been issued departure orders actually leave the EU countries.
In this context, statistics show that the number of asylum applications in the European Union decreased by 19 percent in 2025 compared to the previous year. However, only about 20 percent of those asked to leave the Union actually return to their home countries.
The proposal has drawn criticism from human rights organizations that warned of the potential for widespread violations of fundamental rights. The PICUM organization expressed concerns that individuals may be deported to countries they have never lived in before, which could lead to legal and humanitarian issues.
At the political level, some European countries have expressed reservations about the plan, including France and Spain. In contrast, other countries support these measures, including Austria and Germany, as well as several countries in Northern Europe.
Germany is already working in cooperation with four other European countries on plans to establish deportation centers in third countries outside the European Union as part of a policy aimed at tightening control over irregular migration.
In Austria, Lukas Mandl, a member of the European Parliament from the ÖVP party, welcomed the voting results within the Committee on Internal Affairs. He confirmed that the step represents a new direction in the EU's deportation policy, noting that the new centers will make it difficult to disrupt deportation decisions through repeated appeals.
Mandl added that the new amendments also include redefining the concept of safe countries, whether as countries of origin or third countries, expressing hope that the decision adopted within the committee will soon become European law.