EU interior ministers agreed to stricter migrant-return rules in Luxembourg on October 1. The measures include longer detention, sanctions for people who don’t cooperate and return hubs outside the bloc. They shift policy from paperwork to enforcement, while leaving key questions about safeguards unanswered, according to the UN human rights office.
Enforcement across borders
Under the agreement, people without the right to stay must leave and cooperate with authorities. Those who don’t could face reduced benefits, fines or criminal charges. Refusal to cooperate could now bring punishment, not just immigration consequences.
The proposed European Return Order would let EU countries choose whether to recognise return decisions made by other member states. Ministers plan to review the framework after three years. Recognition isn’t automatic: each country would decide whether to accept another country’s return decision.
Countries could impose indefinite entry bans on people considered security risks. They could also extend detention beyond the current limit. The rules permit return hubs outside the EU, shifting part of the return system beyond the bloc’s territory. But the agreement doesn’t say where the hubs would operate or what conditions they must meet.
Unaccompanied minors don’t fall under the measures. The rules are due to take effect in the coming weeks.
Return orders and actual returns
The ministers’ agreement follows a Munich meeting on 26 September, where Migration Commissioner Magnus Brunner said irregular arrivals had dropped by 55%. That figure covers arrivals, not how many people with return orders have left the EU.
In 2025, the EU ordered nearly 492,000 people to leave. Only 135,000 did. The gap is stark. The agreement responds with new enforcement powers, including penalties for non-cooperation and the option to recognise other countries’ return decisions.
Greece’s migration minister, Thanos Plevris, said the first return hub could open in the second half of 2027 in an unspecified African country. He didn’t name it. So the proposed location remains unknown, though the hub would sit outside the EU.
Safeguards remain unclear
The UN human rights office warned that the law lacks clear rules for monitoring, appeals or conditions in host countries. Its concerns include oversight of return hubs, the ability to challenge decisions and the treatment of people held in countries hosting the facilities.
The agreement sets out broad enforcement powers: countries could recognise one another’s return decisions, impose possible sanctions, extend detention for security risks and establish hubs beyond EU borders. It also excludes unaccompanied minors and provides for a review after three years. The UN warning points to unresolved questions about monitoring the rules and how affected people could appeal.
According to Thanos Plevris, the first hub could be established in an African country in the second half of 2027. The country remains unspecified. Meanwhile, the EU’s 2025 figures record nearly 492,000 return orders and 135,000 people returned. The rules aim to strengthen the machinery for carrying out those orders, but the UN human rights office says the law doesn’t clearly spell out safeguards in host countries.