‘Mood change’ on migration puts deportation hubs on EU table

Luxembourg –

EU countries on Thursday discussed “innovative” ways to increase the deportations of irregular migrants and rejected asylum-seekers, including controversial plans to set up dedicated return centers outside the bloc.

Far-right gains in several European countries helped put migration issues on top of the agenda as home affairs ministers from the bloc’s 27 states met in Luxembourg ahead of a gathering of EU leaders later this month.

“The mood in the room has changed … that is crystal clear,” Dutch migration minister Marjolein Faber, of the nationalist populist Party for Freedom (PVV), told reporters after the talks.