The European Union has reached a deal on tougher migration rules that would allow countries to set up so-called “return hubs” outside the bloc, a move hailed by supporters as a practical answer to stalled deportations, but denounced by rights groups as a dangerous step towards offshore detention. Meanwhile, the question of EU enlargement is also on the cards at a Western Balkans summit.
Issued on: 02/06/2026 - 17:31
The agreement, struck on Monday between European lawmakers and member states, comes as Brussels is also looking eastwards with renewed urgency.
At a Western Balkans summit in Montenegro later this week, EU leaders will seek to show Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, North Macedonia, Kosovo, Serbia and Montenegro that enlargement is back on the table – not as a vague aspiration, but as a strategic priority.
The timing also underlines the EU’s delicate balancing act. As the European Union tries to convince its neighbours that membership is a real prospect, it is also preparing rules that could see some non-EU countries host centres for people who have been ordered to leave the bloc.
