Despite a track record so far of failed projects, Denmark is hosting the latest round of talks in the hopes of setting up asylum deportation centres abroad – with Rwanda and Uganda among the frontrunners.
The meeting, set to take place in Copenhagen on Friday (4 September), will see a gathering of ministers from Austria, Denmark, Germany, Greece and the Netherlands.
“Austria and Denmark have been close partners for around four years and thus also drivers of asylum procedures and return centres in countries outside Europe,” said Austria’s interior minister Gerhard Karner, last month. “Now we are working together – concretely and consistently – on their implementation.”
The plan is to launch an initial project next year with the meeting in Copenhagen set to determine further steps.
The plans come despite opposition from both Spain and France, noting similar past efforts have failed to deliver results at enormous financial and human expense.
