Denmark Eyes Overseas Migrant Return Center

Copenhagen expects to be ready by the end of next year to transfer foreign nationals without legal residency to a return center in a partner country, although it has not yet announced which country that will be.

Morten Bodskov, Denmark’s Minister for Immigration and Integration, will meet representatives from Germany, Austria, the Netherlands and Greece on Friday. They aim to agree on concrete steps toward the European Union’s first agreement with a nonmember country to establish such a center.

According to Bodskov, negotiations have made significant progress and the plan is closer to becoming a reality than ever before. Denmark therefore expects to be able to send the first migrants as early as 2027.

In June, the European Parliament approved a migration policy reform designed to speed up deportations and allow member states to establish detention facilities abroad. Critics warn that the changes could weaken protections for asylum seekers.

The Council of Europe, which is separate from the European Union, has warned of significant human rights risks, including the potential mistreatment and arbitrary detention of people transferred to third countries.

(Reuters, bak)