(Euronews) Ursula von der Leyen has offered her strongest endorsement yet to the controversial project of establishing so-called “return hubs” outside the European Union territory to transfer asylum seekers whose applications have been rejected.
The idea was reflected in a letter the European Commission president sent to EU leaders ahead of a two-day summit in Brussels where migration is set to dominate talks.
The seven-page letter, shared with the media on Monday evening, outlines several proposals to curb the number of asylum applications, which reached 1,140,000 claims across the bloc last year, and counter irregular border crossings and human smuggling. It signals a strong shift to the right, in line with the direction of Europe’s migration debate.
