Written by journalist Danylo Aleksandrov

The European Union is very likely to adopt a new migration law that would allow return hubs outside of its borders and overall harsher methods to speed up the deportations of illegal migrants.

It is expected, that an agreement between European Parliament and member states’ governments will be reached today regarding stricter migration and deportation rules. This would be one of the most radical changes in EU’s migration policy. The law reflects the growing concern among Europeans about migration into the bloc, which also caused a rise in popularity of anti-immigration and eurosceptical political parties, such as Rassemblement nationalin France, as some member states are nearing elections.

One of the key aspects of the law is the one that allows member countries to create deportations centers located outside EU’s territory, as well as other measures such as longer periods of detention and more powers to find and deport illegal migrants. It would allow deportation of migrants to countries not part of the bloc that they do not come from, provided that these countries have a bilateral agreement with the EU for these centers. The “return hubs” can be expected to be places used for transit or as places where the returned migrants would stay for longer periods. Families with children would not be exempt from this policy, with only unaccompanied minors being an exception.

The call for legislation to be rejected was supported by more than 250 civil society organization and numerous human rights groups. Critics say that this law would leave lots of people in foreign countries to which they have little to no connection or no legal status. Other point made by some is that it is not clear how it will be determined where to send the migrants, a situation that enables racial profiling and legalizing offshore prisons with human rights violations and other abuses.

Another problem often pointed out is the questionable efficiency of return hubs. Such centers in Albania are presented as an example. Initially planned to accommodate 36,000 people per year, 2 centers in this Balkan country received only around 1000. As such, the impact of those institution does little to accelerate the return of migrants. Nonetheless, a number of EU members are supporting this change to migration policy.

If the talks are successful, the next step would be the approval of the agreements by the European Parliament and by the member states.