Greece's Migration Minister Thanos Plevris told Politico that a coalition of five EU countries is targeting the first ha...

Greece's Migration Minister Thanos Plevris told Politico that a coalition of five EU countries is targeting the first half of 2027 to launch a pilot program sending failed asylum seekers to third countries outside the EU, with the full mechanism potentially operational by the second half of that year. The so-called Core Group, made up of Greece, Denmark, Austria, Germany, and the Netherlands, is working to designate specific non-EU countries where migrants whose asylum applications have been rejected will be returned. Plevris was clear that the plan does not involve closed detention facilities in third countries, rather a designated list of countries where deportations will be carried out. Two EU diplomats familiar with the talks told Politico, speaking anonymously, that the first agreement is expected to involve Rwanda, with Uganda and Uzbekistan also under consideration as possible destinations. Plevris declined to name specific countries but said the candidate nations already host large migrant populations and have existing reception infrastructure. The minister stressed the scheme is not designed for mass transfers. He described it as "one more pressure tool" aimed at increasing voluntary returns among those with rejected asylum claims. Separately, Plevris is expected to present a Greek proposal at Thursday's EU Interior Ministers meeting that would allow member states to temporarily suspend asylum applications from new arrivals during periods of extreme migration pressure. Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis first floated the idea in a Politico op-ed following the arrival of tens of thousands of migrants in the Spanish enclave of Ceuta in North Africa. On pushback allegations, Plevris rejected accusations that Greece has violated EU rules through illegal migrant pushbacks, saying Greece protects its borders in accordance with international law and will "not apologize to anyone" for doing so. He also confirmed that European prosecutors are investigating how Greece used EU funds for migrant reception facilities, adding that Greece has provided all requested information and no further developments have emerged. Plevris cited Trump's immigration approac...