The migration deal that was closed on Monday is only the latest proof that European migration policy – and the EU itself – may never have been as liberal as we like to believe.
Originally published in Dutch in Trouw on 12 March 2026, by Laura Cleton (EUR).
Translation in English
On Monday evening, a coalition of centre- and (radical) right-wing parties in the Home Affairs Committee of the European Parliament adopted a far-reaching proposal for the new Return Regulation. This should form the final piece of the EU Migration and Asylum Pact that will enter into force later this year. The most notable part of the proposal are the so-called ‘return hubs’: closed prisons to which rejected asylum seekers are sent. From here, their return to the country of origin will then be organized.
Radical right celebrated the vote as a victory: ‘The era of mass deportations has arrived!’, the vice chairman of the Home Affairs Committee rejoiced on X. The vice-president of the social democratic group reacted disappointedly: ‘Europe must lead on the basis of its principles, not by abandoning them.’ The Platform for International Cooperation for Undocumented Migrants (PICUM) also stated that ‘this vote betrays the values that the EU claims to defend’.
Those concerns are justified. A coalition of 200 NGOs, including Amnesty International, has already warned of serious human rights violations that could involve ‘return hubs’. For example, the earlier Dutch plan to open similar prisons in Uganda mentioned the country’s strict LGBTI+ laws, which pose risks for rejected asylum seekers who identify themselves as such. According to this proposal, children can also end up in these centers, without their specific needs and right to development being guaranteed.
Forced return
In addition, outsourcing migration management to third countries significantly increases the risk of indirect re-repoulement, or the forced return of migrants who are at risk in the country of origin.
This is the case, for example, after accelerated procedures included in the pact, but also in changing circumstances in countries of origin and if dubious regimes put pressure on asylum seekers who have been processed to leave ‘voluntarily’.
We now know that these types of constructions do not work. The deals between the United Kingdom and Rwanda and Italy and Albania have been systematically rejected by the courts. In Italy, costs were also extremely high: up to 653 million euros for the first five years. There was hardly any ‘result’ in contrast: return to countries of origin does not take place from these centers.
That makes sense, because return hubs do not eliminate the causes of the stagging return policy. Research at Erasmus University Rotterdam shows that countries of origin have fundamentally different interests upon return. Those who want to improve return policy must meet these interests, rather than engage in unilateral power politics. This adopted proposal therefore shows that the EU does not want to create an effective return policy, but above all wants to shift its responsibility, as MEP Tineke Strik already aptly put it. A more sustainable, more humane and fair alternative lies in taking seriously the concerns of countries of origin, honestly informing European citizens about what migration policy can and cannot achieve, and creating regularization opportunities for long-term undocumented migrants who cannot return.
Beacon of liberal values
Just as alarming is the implicit trust in the EU as a beacon of liberal norms and values – a confidence that resonates in the reactions of the Social Democratic group and PICUM. The EU has presented itself for decades as a ‘normative power’, driven by democracy, the rule of law, human rights and human dignity. It’s time to say goodbye to that myth for good. The ‘European way of life’ has included decades of structural violations of human rights at internal and external borders, rejection of rule of law principles and a persistent belief in control and criminalization as a solution to ‘migration problems’. The cruel deal that was concluded on Monday is only the latest evidence that European migration policy – and with it the EU itself – may never have been as liberal as we would like to believe.