(Reuters) The European Union could submit a proposal as soon as March on the creation of so-called “return hubs” to expedite the removal of illegal migrants, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said on Thursday.
Kristersson sketched out the potential timetable during a meeting in Vienna with Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer, a fellow conservative, in which both men urged the European Union to step up efforts to counter illegal immigration.
Growing support for hard and far-right parties across Europe has pushed immigration up the political agenda. EU leaders said in October they were considering a scheme under which migrants with no right to stay in the bloc could be sent to hubs in countries considered safe outside the EU.
