Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson has said the European Union could submit a proposal on creating so-called “return hubs” to expedite the removal of illegal migrants as soon as March.
On January 2, Kristersson sketched out a potential timetable during a meeting in Vienna with Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer, in which both men urged the EU to step up efforts to counter illegal immigration.
Growing support for hard-right parties across Europe has pushed immigration up the political agenda. EU leaders said in October they were considering a scheme under which immigrants with no right to stay in the bloc could be sent to hubs in countries considered safe outside the EU.
Kristersson said he had discussed the scheme with the EU Commissioner for Migration, Austria’s Magnus Brunner, who had assured him a proposal would be forthcoming this spring, “sometime in March”.
“There is some momentum right now,” Kristersson said.
Nehammer praised Kristersson for keeping immigration on the EU’s agenda. He pointed out that there were now 18 countries within Europe’s Schengen free-travel area, including Switzerland and Norway, all of whom were aligned on reducing immigrant flows.
The Austrian chancellor said governments had managed to “completely change” discussion around immigration so that countries with no external EU border, such as Austria, were now more involved in addressing the issue.
“Only when we recognise that the problem must be solved together do we have a chance of making progress,” Nehammer added.
There was a sharp decline in illegal migration to Italy in 2024, with almost 60 per cent fewer illegitimate migrants reaching the country than in 2023. https://t.co/5XZRaHKnQN
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) January 2, 2025
