Denmark hopes to start deporting migrants to non-EU 'return hubs' in 2027

Denmark says it hopes to start sending rejected asylum seekers to non-EU “return hubs" by 2027ByCLAUDIA CIOBANU Associated PressSeptember 4, 2026, 7:02 AMDenmark said it hoped to begin sending rejected asylum seekers to non-European Union “return hubs” as early as 2027, ahead of a Friday meeting of five countries leading European efforts to establish such centers outside the continent.In June, European lawmakers voted to allow member states to set up migrant detention centers outside the EU, known as “return hubs.” Any EU nation can now negotiate on its own or in small coalitions to deport migrants not to their home countries but to facilities yet to be built in third countries, outside the 27-nation bloc.“We cannot accept that people without a legal stay continue to reside in our respective countries,” Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen said on Friday as he welcomed ministers from Germany, Austria, The Netherlands and Greece to Copenhagen to discuss progress on establishing the deportation centers outside Europe. “And at the same time we would like to work together with third countries to be able to give irregular migrants a second chance in a partner country,” Rasmussen...