Austria, Denmark, Germany, Greece and the Netherlands to announce Rwanda migrant return hub deal

Announcement expected in Vienna

Austria, Denmark, Germany, Greece and the Netherlands are preparing to announce an agreement that would send rejected asylum seekers to a centre in Rwanda. AFP, citing diplomats and others familiar with the talks, reported that the announcement is planned for Monday, 16 November. An earlier ANSA-AFP report from 13 November put it on 16 or 17 November, so the exact day is not yet confirmed. The timing matches the Vienna Migration Conference, organised by the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD), where government representatives from 20 countries are expected. Danish prime minister Mette Frederiksen said at a summit in Dublin that the countries were getting closer to creating a centre outside Europe, and that more details would follow in the week of 16 November.

Who is expected in Vienna

The conference runs on Monday and Tuesday, 16-17 November. German interior minister Alexander Dobrindt and his Austrian counterpart Gerhard Karner are listed as participants, as is Rwandan interior minister Vincent Biruta. The Süddeutsche Zeitung headlined that Germany wants to send rejected asylum seekers to Rwanda from 2027. According to a statement from the Austrian federal office for foreigners and asylum in October, Karner said the centres would help dissolve smugglers' stories, reflecting Austria's hope for a deterrent effect. The five states formed a group called 'Group of Implementers' in January, and its goal is to name a concrete partner country by the end of 2026.

Pilot project and candidate countries

Rwanda would host the first centre as a pilot project, and further deals with other countries, possibly involving other EU members, are not ruled out. Diplomats and other informed sources describe Rwanda as the frontrunner, after Uganda and Uzbekistan were named as possible hosts, and newsORF also lists Kazakhstan. In August, Rwanda confirmed preliminary discussions with several European states without naming them. The five countries aim to make the centres operational as of 2027.

Legal basis and limits

The new EU return regulation, which the Council of the EU gave final approval to on 1 October, allows member states to move people without a right to stay to return centres outside the EU. Each person must already have a return decision against them, and the deal must be made with the third country, which must respect international human rights standards, including the ban on sending people where they face persecution or ill-treatment. Unaccompanied minors are excluded. The scheme differs from the UK's Rwanda plan, which aimed to send irregular arrivals there to have their asylum claims processed. The UK Supreme Court ruled that scheme unlawful in 2023, and the Labour government shelved it after taking power in 2024. The nationalities involved, living conditions and oversight will depend on the agreement that is finally reached.

Human rights concerns

Human rights groups have warned that the hubs risk enabling abuses far from EU oversight or legal recourse. newsORF reports that experts have serious human rights concerns about all the countries named as possible hosts. Der Standard reported that the planned first European return hub is intended for 100 people.