Greece Pushes Emergency Migration Mechanism and Return Hubs

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Greece is taking two key proposals for managing migration to the EU Interior Council, focusing on an emergency mechanism for migration crises and faster returns through so-called Return Hubs in third countries.

The first proposal concerns a European emergency mechanism for situations involving the instrumentalisation of migration flows and hybrid threats at the European Union’s external borders.

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis initially presented the initiative, while Migration and Asylum Minister Thanos Plevris is expected to outline the proposal in detail to his European counterparts.

Athens is calling for a specific European framework for sudden and large-scale migration flows, including enhanced surveillance and the ability to introduce emergency measures.

The issue appears on the council’s agenda under the section covering information for member states on a European mechanism to address the instrumentalisation of migration and hybrid threats at the EU’s external borders.

Plevris has described the mechanism as an attempt to establish a European response to crisis conditions, arguing that authorities cannot rely solely on the usual migration-management tools during such situations.

The Greek proposal also includes the possibility of suspending asylum procedures during cases of instrumentalisation and mass migration flows.

Athens wants the EU to establish clear rules defining when and under what conditions authorities could activate emergency measures.

“In moments of crisis, measures outside the usual framework should be taken,” Plevris has said, outlining the Greek position.

Greece pushes Return Hubs for migrant returns

The second major issue Greece is bringing to the council concerns returns and the creation of Return Hubs in third countries.

Greece is working with Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark and Austria through the so-called Core Group, which aims to move from political declarations towards a practical model for cooperation with third countries.

At a recent meeting of the five ministers in Copenhagen, the countries agreed on the basic principles for cooperation with a third country, while technical contacts and consultations have already begun.

The proposed model would allow people whose applications for international protection have been rejected to return to a safe third country, subject to the requirements of European and international law.

Plevris has stressed that the term “Return Hub” does not necessarily refer to a closed detention facility.

“We are not talking about centres in the sense that someone whose asylum application has been rejected is sent to a closed facility in a third country,” Plevris said.

He explained that the objective is to establish a framework for returns either to a person’s country of origin or to a third country outside the EU.

The Greek government has set a political goal of having the first such hub operating in Africa during Greece’s presidency of the EU Council in the second half of 2027.

International organisations to play a role

The involvement of international organisations will also form part of the next stage of the initiative.

Representatives of international organisations are expected to meet the Core Group on the sidelines of the Interior Council to discuss monitoring procedures and safeguards that should accompany any agreement with a third country.

Greece has stressed that cooperation with international organisations will provide expertise and field support without transferring responsibility away from the five participating countries.

“Obviously, we are not going to shift this responsibility elsewhere. We want to make use of the expertise and presence of international organisations, but responsibility rests jointly with the five countries,” Plevris said.

The next challenge is to move the plans from political design to concrete agreements, with clearly defined legal conditions, timetables and monitoring mechanisms.

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