Greece Explores Plans to Transfer Migrants to Hubs in Africa

(MENAFN) Greece is exploring a plan to transfer irregular migrants to designated holding hubs in Africa, local media reported Friday, in a sweeping initiative that could reshape how the European Union handles failed asylum cases.

The proposal, developed in coordination with Austria, Denmark, Germany, and the Netherlands, targets migrants whose asylum applications have been rejected but who cannot be immediately repatriated to their home countries, according to a newspaper.

Initial contacts for so-called "return hubs" have already been established with Kenya, the newspaper reported, with outreach to Uganda and Rwanda expected to follow in the coming weeks.

The five-nation plan is set to be debated among the participating countries this coming Monday, ahead of a broader presentation on March 5 at the EU Migration Ministers meeting in Brussels — signaling that the initiative could rapidly gain continental traction.

Under the framework, thousands of asylum cases — primarily involving nationals from Pakistan, Bangladesh, Syria, Iraq, and Egypt — would be reexamined with the primary goal of returning migrants to their countries of origin. Those refused repatriation by their home governments would face transfer to the African return hubs.

The plan mirrors controversial migration offshoring models previously pursued by the UK and Italy, and arrives as pressure mounts across Europe for tougher enforcement of asylum and deportation rules.

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