A coalition of 19 European Union heads of government has formally called for the swift operationalisation of the bloc’s newly agreed return regulation, including the establishment of “return hubs” in non-EU countries. In a joint letter circulated during the European Council summit, the signatories — led by Italy and Denmark — pressed the European Commission to support member states in pursuing such arrangements, describing them as essential to dismantling people-smuggling networks and raising the rate of removals of individuals without legal right to stay. The letter, which Sweden and the Netherlands also backed, explicitly cites the Italy-Albania cooperation model as an already operational initiative.

Viewed from Madrid, the initiative drew immediate pushback. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, whose government did not sign the letter, argued against what he termed excessively rigid norms, while Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni countered that Spain’s domestic regularisation of roughly half a million irregular migrants produces systemic effects across the borderless Schengen area. Germany and France likewise abstained from the letter, leaving a visible fault line between a Mediterranean-led group favouring externalisation and larger founding states that remain cautious about the legal and diplomatic implications of offshore processing.

The European Commission has signalled alignment with the signatories’ core premise. Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, in a separate communication to member states, confirmed that the new return regulation — approved by the European Parliament this month — explicitly permits the creation of return centres in third countries, provided they respect EU and international human-rights standards. Von der Leyen also highlighted deepening cooperation with Morocco on border management, anti-smuggling efforts and legal mobility pathways, and indicated that a proposal to digitalise return and readmission case management, along with a revised mandate for the Frontex border agency, would be tabled in the autumn.

The political push arrives as the EU’s broader Migration and Asylum Pact enters full application, replacing a two-decade-old legal framework. Proponents of the hubs argue that external processing can remove incentives for irregular crossings and undercut criminal networks. Critics, however, point to unresolved questions about jurisdiction, the willingness of third countries to host such centres, and the still-unproven operational impact of the Italy-Albania model. The letter’s backers intend to keep migration at the centre of the European Council’s agenda, while the Commission is expected to present concrete legislative proposals later this year. The dossier now moves into a phase of technical and diplomatic negotiation, with the absence of Berlin, Paris and Madrid from the joint appeal indicating that consensus on the external dimension of returns remains incomplete.