Latest news with #returnhubs
The Guardian
7 days ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
Third-country asylum plan shows UK is in ‘a very dark place', says Albanian PM
A UK plan to send refused asylum seekers to 'return hubs' in third countries shows post-Brexit Britain is 'in a very dark place', Albania's prime minister has said. In his first interview with the international media since leading his socialist party to a historic fourth term in office, Edi Rama said the idea of the UK wanting to 'look for places to dump immigrants' would have been inconceivable a decade ago. But it was in keeping with the shift in public discourse in Britain since Brexit, in which the 'totally unacceptable, totally ridiculous, totally shameful' had become normalised, he said. Announced last month by Keir Starmer during a visit to the Balkan state, the 'return hubs' scheme would involve centres in a third country processing the claims of people refused asylum who have exhausted legal pathways in the UK. 'It's one of those things that 10 years ago would simply not have not been imaginable … that Britain would look for places to dump immigrants,' Rama said from Tirana, the Albanian capital. 'The fact that today it's not just imaginable, it's happening, is not because of Keir Starmer or [Rishi] Sunak doing something outrageous; it's because of the country being in a very dark place.' Rama, who is renowned for his outspoken and contrarian views, voiced dismay at the level of public discourse in the UK. As a committed anglophile, he said, it was hard to take in. 'Eighty per cent of the things that are said, or are written, or are accepted as a normal part of the discourse in today's Britain are things that [before Brexit] would have been totally unacceptable, totally ridiculous, totally shameful,' he said. Under former Tory governments, relations between the UK and Albania became increasingly strained, overshadowed by boat crossings and accusations of illegal Albanian immigrants 'invading' British shores. Starmer's visit in May – the first ever by a British prime minister – – was aimed at putting bilateral relations on a new footing. While in Tirana, the Labour leader said talks were under way 'with a number of countries' to set up the hubs. But, in a move seen as a gentle rebuke to his guest, Rama said in a joint press conference that Albania would not be participating in the scheme. Seeking to put the record straight in the interview, Rama said that Starmer, a 'very decent [and] a delightful person', had neither made the request publicly nor been the first British leader to privately broach the subject. Rama said his response had always been the same: 'I have been clear about this since Boris Johnson asked me and Rishi asked me … I've always said no.' That Albania had previously agreed to a similar scheme with Italy's prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, was different because of the 'very special relationship' the two countries had. That deal, which envisaged intercepting people at sea and taking most of them not to Italy but to a reception centre in Albania for their asylum claims to be processed, has so far been obstructed by legal objections. From the day Albania's brutal Stalinist regime collapsed in 1991, Italy had stood by his country, Rama said. As a result his compatriots had 'a weak spot' for Rome. 'Practically we are one country made of two independent countries … Italy has been there for us in every dark moment and difficult situation since the day we got out of the hell of [being] the North Korea of Europe,' he added. '[We] have a weak spot for Italy, so when Italy asks us for something we say yes, full stop.' Rama's stance coincides with a newfound confidence as the small country, among Europe's poorest states, makes once-unthinkable strides towards joining the EU. With a dramatic change of pace and tone that he attributes to the new 'geopolitically driven spirit' of European policymakers since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, accession negotiations have accelerated as Brussels finally seeks to embrace the western Balkans. The region has long been viewed by Moscow as falling into Russia's sphere of influence. Sign up to This is Europe The most pressing stories and debates for Europeans – from identity to economics to the environment after newsletter promotion Rama, who turns 60 in July, ran his election campaign on the promise he would push ahead with pursuing accession to the EU. He now believes negotiations will be wrapped up by 2027 and 'within 2030 we'll be an EU member'. Albania, which joined Nato in 2009, has been an accession candidate for more than a decade. 'The whole approach to the process has dramatically changed,' he said. 'Now they [the EU] are very eager to go forward … With the Russian aggression everything changed, so somehow Vladimir Putin also did this, he made Europe much more interested in unifying.'. He sees a similar effect on the EU from the new occupant of the White House and is '100% convinced that Donald Trump's election is a good thing for Europe'. Rama said Trump's victory jolted Europe out of its languor and had brought 'an unsettling spirit' that the world needed. 'I think that when Trump says God saved him because he had a plan for America, I think he says only half the truth. God saved him because he had a plan for Europe too, to wake Europe up,' he said. Later this year, the Albanian painter turned prime minister will launch a 'thank you' tour of diaspora communities who, in a first, were able to vote in last month's election, helping him secure a landslide victory. More than 500,000 ethnic Albanians are thought to live in Greece alone. Rama's hope is that he can lure them back 'because now our salaries are very close to [those in] Greece and it's home'. But the socialist party leader, at 6ft 7in (2.01 metres), a basketball player in his youth, also has his critics. Charges of corruption in Albanian society are widespread. So, too, are accusations of creeping authoritarianism – Rama will be the longest-serving leader since Enver Hoxha, the country's former brutal dictator – though the allegations are labelled farcical by admirers and mandarins in Brussels. One former EU minister said: 'Edi is larger than life. His problem is that he is too big for his country and I am not referring to his height.' If Albania succeeded in its membership bid, Rama said it would be 'the right and most wonderful moment to pass the torch'. It would be a personal achievement but also 'help Europe be less boring and more sunny'.
The Independent
26-05-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
UK ‘to ask Kosovo' to take failed asylum seekers in overseas ‘return hubs plan'
The UK is reportedly set to ask Kosovo to take failed asylum seekers as part of plans to open overseas 'return hubs' for migrants. Kosovo has been put on a list of nine countries that are seen as potential locations for the hubs, The Times has reported. The 'returns hubs' would house asylum seekers after they have exhausted all their rights to appeal for sanctuary in the UK. They would then be deported back to their home country from these hubs. Kosovo's president, Vjosa Osmani, has already said that the country would be open to discuss housing the UK's failed asylum seekers. She said last week: 'There's been no formal talks with the UK on this issue. It hasn't been raised so far. We would be open to discussing it, however I can't say more than that because I don't know the details. 'I cannot give an answer on a request that hasn't been made so far'. The prime minister of North Macedonia, Hristijan Mickoski, also said last week that his country had not yet been formally approached by the UK for the scheme. According to The Times, North Macedonia, Kosovo, Serbia and Bosnia-Herzegovina are on the shortlist of countries that the UK is eyeing up. There are also reportedly some countries outside of Europe on the list. The paper reported that the UK wants to have begun talks on the scheme before a meeting of western Balkan leaders in London in autumn. Almost 22,000 people were recorded using the Western Balkans to travel irregularly into Europe last year, according to the Foreign Office. Foreign secretary David Lammy travelled to Kosovo and Serbia in early April. He said parts of the western Balkans 'have become a major transit route for irregular migration and serious organised crime'. Sir Keir Starmer raised the idea of 'returns hubs' during the European Political Community Summit in Tirana, Albania. He told reporters that such hubs were not 'a silver bullet in and of themselves', but would be 'a very important additional tool in our armoury'. He said he had had 'discussions about return hubs' with leaders at the summit. However Albanian prime minister Edi Rama ruled out being a host to the UK scheme, saying an equivalent measure introduced for the Italian government was a one-off.
The Independent
15-05-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
How might Starmer's migrant ‘return hubs' even work?
Britain has opened talks about sending failed asylum seekers to detention centres abroad, Keir Starmer has confirmed during a trip to Albania. The prime minister said he wanted to send migrants to 'return hubs' overseas once they had exhausted all avenues of appeal. He did not specify which countries were engaged in discussions, but Edi Rama, the Albanian prime minister, made it clear that Albania was not one of them: 'I have said from the outset, it is a model takes its time to be tested and if it works it can be replicated – not in Albania but other countries in the region.' He added: 'To be very frank with you we have been asked by many countries but we said no, as we are loyal to our marriage with Italy.' The Italian government has paid €600m (£505m) for two detention centres in Albania, although so far only 40 failed asylum seekers have been sent to them because the scheme has been beset by legal challenges. So where might British 'return hubs' be? As Rama suggested, other countries in the Balkans have been mooted as possible partners, including Serbia, Bosnia and North Macedonia. Places further afield have been suggested, although the only country known to be in negotiation about opening a return hub is Uganda, which is in discussion with the Netherlands. As the British government is said to be keen to work with other European countries in dealing with asylum, it will be watching to see whether anything comes of those talks. The European Union announced in March that it approved of member states seeking deals to establish offshore detention centres, which means that other countries may join the hunt for sites. Denmark, for example, passed a law four years ago to allow offshore asylum centres, although it has not yet established any. How would return hubs differ from the Rwanda policy? On Starmer's first day in office last year he ended the scheme to remove irregular migrants to Rwanda – a policy he condemned as a 'gimmick'. He said that it would 'never' act as a deterrent because it would take only 1 per cent of people arriving by small boat. The Rwanda policy was different from the current plan in that migrants would not be allowed to apply for asylum in Britain: they would have to apply for asylum in Rwanda, and if they were not accepted as genuine refugees they would be stranded there. The plan for return hubs is to house migrants who have applied for asylum in Britain and who have been rejected. The rationale is that they would not be able to disappear into the grey economy in the UK, and would have an incentive to return home. This is a development of the idea of setting up detention camps in Britain, or on British overseas territories such as St Helena. Tony Blair's government briefly considered siting a detention camp on Mull, in Scotland, while Boris Johnson's government looked at St Helena, Ascension Island and several other unsuitable locations. The other big difference between this plan and the Rwanda policy is that the UNHCR, the UN refugee agency, which condemned the Rwanda scheme, says return hubs are acceptable. Are there any better ideas? A Labour-leaning think tank this week proposed setting up asylum processing centres in France, so that those seeking refugee status in the UK could apply there. The problem with this plan is that many of those whose applications were rejected would still try to cross the Channel by small boat, knowing that once they were in the UK it would be hard to remove them. The think tank's plan is that Britain should propose a deal by which France accepts the return of migrants crossing the Channel in small boats. The idea is that for every genuine refugee the UK accepts, France should take one irregular migrant back. The British government, under both Labour and Conservatives, has been trying to secure a deal like this for some time, but it is not sufficiently in the interest of the French government. It would be left having to deal with thousands of Britain's 'rejects'. For the moment, then, offshore return hubs remain the most likely option, but as the Italian experience with Albania shows, they are hard to negotiate and remain vulnerable to legal challenge.
RNZ News
15-05-2025
- Politics
- RNZ News
UK PM says in talks over third country 'return hubs' for migrants
By Camille Bouissou with Helen Rowe in London, AFP British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Photo: STEPHANIE LECOCQ / AFP The UK is in talks with different countries about setting up "return hubs" for failed asylum seekers, Prime Minister Keir Starmer has said during a visit to Albania focused on immigration. The UK leader is under pressure to reduce immigration and cut the number of irregular migrants arriving on UK shores, many in small boats, amid the rising popularity of the hard-right, anti-immigrant Reform Party. "We are in talks with a number of countries about return hubs," Starmer told a joint news conference with his Albanian counterpart Edi Rama. But Rama made it clear that Albania, which has already reached a similar agreement with Italy, would not be involved. Starmer insisted his Labour government had been left a "mess" by the previous Conservative leadership, which he said had failed to process asylum claims. The prime minister's official spokesman said: "This will basically apply to people who have exhausted all legal routes to remain in the UK but are attempting to stall, using various tactics -- whether it's losing their paperwork or using other tactics to frustrate their removal." Last July, Starmer's Labour government abandoned the Conservatives' scheme to deport undocumented migrants to Rwanda. Rama said hosting a UK return hub in Albania was not on the table. An earlier deal made with Italy had been a "one-off", he said. The scheme by Italy for Italian-run facilities to process migrants in Albania is currently bogged down in the courts. "The model that we've brought to Albania in cooperation with Italy ... is a model that takes its time to be tested," said Rama. "If it works, it can be replicated, but not in Albania, in other countries of the region." Britain's opposition Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch rejected Starmer's "return hubs" plan. "Starmer is making an effort, but this will NOT stop the boats," she wrote on X. "We left Labour a real deterrent. This is weaker than the Rwanda plan and won't work," she added. The Refugee Council called the idea "inhumane, unworkable and a waste of public funds". In March, the European Commission unveiled a planned reform of the 27-nation bloc's return system, opening the way for member states to set up migrant return centres outside the EU. Earlier this week Starmer unveiled tough new immigration policies, setting off a storm of criticism when he warned the UK could become "an island of strangers." The new policies include cutting the number of overseas care workers, doubling the length of time before migrants can qualify for settlement in the country and new powers to deport foreign criminals. The announcement was widely seen as a bid to fend off rising support for anti-immigrant firebrand Nigel Farage's hard-right Reform UK party. Labour vowed in its general election manifesto last year to significantly reduce net migration, which stood at 728,000 in the 12 months to last June. It peaked at 906,000 in 2023 after averaging 200,000 for most of the 2010s. In addition to high levels of legal migration, the UK has also seen unprecedented numbers of irregular migrants. And the numbers of asylum seekers has tripled to 84,200 in 2024, compared to 27,500 between 2010 and 2011. More than 12,500 migrants have made the perilous Channel crossing so far this year, according to an AFP tally based on figures from the UK's interior ministry. They were mainly Afghans, Syrians and Iranians. Under a 2002 deal, Albanians arriving in the UK on small boats across the Channel can be sent back immediately. Some 5294 Albanians were sent back in 2024, more than double the 2035 Albanian nationals returned two years earlier. Starmer also announced an expansion of the Joint Migration Taskforce in the Western Balkans, set up with Albania and Kosovo, to include North Macedonia and Montenegro. It would allow greater intelligence sharing to intercept smuggling gangs and deploy UK funded drones to snare criminals funnelling migrants through the Western Balkans to the UK. -AFP
Sky News
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Sky News
An embarrassment for Starmer on migrant return hubs?
Sir Keir Starmer used his first visit to Albania to announce the UK is keen to set up "return hubs" to deport migrants. Formal discussions are under way, he said, with various countries. We don't know which these are, but we know which aren't keen - rather awkwardly, Albania. Their prime minister, Edi Rama, said he remained "loyal" to their "marriage" with Italy - relations with other countries are "simply love". The Conservatives say the trip is therefore an embarrassment for Sir Keir. His team say this was never on the agenda for this trip, which is about joint policing and intelligence sharing. First of all, what are return hubs? Essentially, return hubs are processing centres for people who have exhausted all their options to stay in the UK - including asylum applications, appeals and attempts to claim certain work or study visas. They will be sent back to their home country, and while that happens, they can go to these return hubs - to prevent them absconding. Officials said it would also prevent them starting a family, for example, and using that as part of their claim to stay in the UK. Italy has one already but it's not used Georgia Meloni's government has been keen on these for some time, and has built two in Albania - at the port of Shengjin, and the village of Gjader - big enough for 36,000 people a year. But both, which Sky News visited last year, are currently empty. The courts in Rome say they can't be used until the European Court of Justice rules them safe. A ruling is expected next month. Although, in a boost to the UK government's plans, the UN's refugee agency, has backed the principle of return hubs, if they meet human rights standards. 1:30 Is this like the Rwanda plan? Spending millions on housing for migrants that then lies empty may sound familiar- but this is different to the Rwanda plan. Agreed by the Conservatives, Rwanda was scrapped by Sir Keir when Labour won office - he said it was "unethical, unworkable and extortionate". The key difference is that under the Rwanda plan, asylum seekers would not be able to claim to stay in the UK - they would be deported and could only apply to stay in Rwanda. This was ruled unlawful by the Supreme Court. Why did Albania say no? The UK hasn't always endeared itself to Albania, with comments by former home secretary Suella Braverman about an "invasion" of "Albanian criminals" causing anger here. David Cameron cut short a much-anticipated visit, as foreign secretary, to just 89 minutes, when the 2024 general election was called - causing offence. And Mr Rama pointedly talked about the "stigmatising" of Albanians living legally in the UK. Andi Hoxhaj, a Balkan expert at Kings' College London, told me: "The UK just hasn't put in the work. It's the first visit by a UK prime minister 103 years after diplomatic relations were established. Starmer and Yvette Cooper understand this and want warmer relations. But it was wishful thinking that a return hub would be agreed." So who else might have one? The government has been concentrating their efforts to "smash the gangs" on the Western Balkans. The joint enforcement in Albania, has - according to the National Crime Agency - been a model which other countries could follow. There are likely to be discussions at the European Political Community summit on Friday with countries such as Serbia, North Macedonia and Montenegro to scope out their interest, and the UK is hosting a Western Balkans summit in London in autumn 2025.
