Greece joins Denmark, Austria, Germany and the Netherlands for a return hub in Africa

Greece now joins Denmark, Austria, Germany and the Netherlands. A country of first entry for migrants, like Italy, with a route that regained strength in 2026, the government of Athens also joins that of the other European countries that are initiating the first contacts to open one of the so-called return hubs in Africa.

These are centers which, in a completely different way from the Italian experience in Albania, outside the European borders, would completely take on the task of analyzing asylum requests and repatriating people who are denied a residence permit.

The Greek Minister for Migration, Thanos Plevris, in an interview with the Ant1 television broadcaster, announced that, in the second half of 2027, during the semester of the EU presidency, Athens is ready to participate in the project in an "African country that we have already chosen; we simply cannot reveal its name yet".

Among the possible locations that have been discussed in recent days are Uganda and Rwanda. The Greek minister announced an upcoming meeting with the other four countries indicated and with the director of the International Organization for Migration to discuss the project.