EU adopts new return regulation allowing 'return hubs' outside the bloc

EU interior ministers meeting in Luxembourg gave final approval on Thursday, October 1, to a regulation that sets common rules for returning people who have no right to stay in the European Union and allows member states to send them to so-called return hubs in non-EU countries, DW reported via InfoMigrants. The regulation complements the EU's Pact on Migration and Asylum, according to ProtoThema.

The timeline

The European Commission proposed the regulation in March 2025, and the Parliament and Council reached a political agreement on June 1, 2026, according to an analysis by the legal consultancy Bridges. After the Council's adoption on October 1, it was published in the EU's Official Journal on October 15 as Regulation (EU) 2026/2280 and entered into force on October 16, Bridges reports. ProtoThema and EU Insider say the return-hub provisions apply as soon as the text is published, while provisions that need administrative preparation apply a year later. Bridges puts the date for return decisions, entry bans, detention and appeals at October 16, 2027.

What the regulation does

According to ProtoThema, EU Insider and Bridges:

• Return hubs. A member state may send a person with a return decision to a centre in a non-EU country, but only under an agreement or arrangement with that country, which must respect international human rights standards and the principle of non-refoulement. Unaccompanied minors may not be sent. The regulation names no host countries.
• European Return Order. A common form allows one member state's return decision to be recognised by others. Recognition is voluntary at first and will be reviewed after three years.
• Entry bans. Bridges says bans can last up to 10 years, or 20 on substantiated grounds; EU Insider and Bridges say people judged a security risk can face indefinite bans.
• Detention. Bridges says the basic maximum is 12 months, extendable to 24 months in cases of non-cooperation or document delays, plus up to six more months, with longer periods possible for security threats.
• Appeals. An appeal no longer automatically suspends removal; a court may suspend it at the person's request, according to Bridges.

Why governments say it is needed

Ireland's justice minister, Jim O'Callaghan, whose country holds the rotating Council presidency, said "around two in three people ordered to leave the EU do not actually leave," EU Insider reported. German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said talks on return hubs with possible host countries were preliminary, declined to name them and said more work was needed for agreements to withstand lawsuits, DW reported. He said he hoped for a first deal by the end of the year. Danish Interior Minister Morten Bodskov said work on return hubs was progressing well, according to DW.

Criticism

The European Council on Refugees and Exiles (ECRE), a network of refugee-rights groups, criticised the deal when it was agreed in June, saying it expands detention, including potentially for families with children, weakens the suspensive effect of appeals and allows deportation to countries people may have no connection with. In its statement ECRE gave the maximum detention period as up to 30 months. DW reports that critics question the legality of return hubs and argue that they violate migrants' fundamental rights.

Other proposals on the table

At the same October 1 meeting, Greece proposed allowing a temporary suspension of asylum applications during mass arrivals, citing Ceuta, where Spain estimates more than 72,000 migrants entered in late July, DW reported. Some states backed the idea. Migration Commissioner Magnus Brunner said Europe needs the means to protect its borders at all times and that the EU will always respect fundamental rights, according to DW. The right to seek asylum is guaranteed by the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights.