Paulo Cunha criticizes Migrants Return HUBs and the Italy Albania migration deal

The European Commission President has called on the bloc to look into so-called innovative solutions to stem the flow of irregular migrants, including the creation of return hubs outside the bloc to detain rejected asylum seekers awaiting deportation. During a debate in the European Parliament on Wednesday, the European Commission maintained its intention to study the possibility of setting up offshore “return hubs” for people whose asylum applications have been rejected in the EU.

“The Commission will continue to explore the possibilities of setting up these return hubs outside the EU, with a view to a new legislative proposal on returns,” commissioner Helena Dalli said after a debate on the issue in Strasbourg.

“But I would like to stress one thing: we are going to pay particular attention to respect for fundamental rights. There will be exchanges with international organisations, such as the UNHCR, to ensure that international law and the principle of non-refoulement are always respected.”

Most of the political groups that supported Ursula von der Leyen's re-election at the helm of the EU's executive on Wednesday criticised her stance on the bloc's migration policy.

Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) from the Socialists, Greens, and Renew Europe lambasted several key points outlined by the President of the Commission in a letter sent to the 27 EU leaders ahead of the last week's European Council during a key debate on migration management in the hemicycle in Strasbourg.

Iratxe García Pérez (Spain), chair of the Socialists and Democrats, was among the most critical voices, calling on von der Leyen to "abandon her inhumane and illegal proposal to create deportation centres in third countries, because it is unacceptable to bend to the extreme right to endorse a migration model that violates human rights".

In her letter dated 14 October, the Commission chief proposed ten points of action, including clear attempts to outsource parts of the bloc's migration policy. For example, she called for more partnerships with third countries to reduce irregular arrivals and proposed ‘innovative ways to counter illegal migration,’ including the controversial idea of establishing return hubs outside the EU.

Von der Leyen wasn’t present at Wednesday's debate and was replaced by Helena Dalli, European Commissioner for Equality.

García Pérez, along with many other members of her group, criticised the protocol agreed upon by Italy and Albania to build and manage two Italian processing centres in the Balkan country, which von der Leyen considers an experience to learn from.

No migrants are currently being hosted in these centres after an Italian court refused to validate the transfer of 16 asylum seekers from Bangladesh and Egypt there, arguing that their requests must be processed in Italy where their countries of origin are not considered safe third countries.

"Centres in Albania are a logistical nightmare, a legal disaster, a threat to human rights, and a significant cost," said S&D MEP Cecilia Strada, who hails from the Partito Democratico, the main opposition party in Italy.

While primarily focused on assessing asylum requests from certain categories of migrants, the Albanian centres could be seen as a sort of return hub outside the EU, as rejected asylum seekers could be held there for up to 18 months while awaiting repatriation.

The Greens/EFA group also opposed the idea of detaining rejected asylum seekers outside the EU before sending them back to their countries of origin with Dutch MEP Tineke Strik arguing that "in the so-called return hubs, people would most likely be placed in limbo, in indefinite detention with no rights or perspectives".

"That’s a way for member states to circumvent EU obligations," she added.

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